Secretly Together GrayLu
by Mangajuicexd
Summary: I'm sure Gray and Lucy have a platonic relationship, but would you want to know some behind the scenes of these two? I'm sure no one in Fairy Tail knows about these two mage's feelings… A series of oneshots or not...
1. Just Sitting Beside You

**Secretly GrayLu by MangaJuiceXD**

**Summary: I'm sure Gray and Lucy have a platonic relationship, but would you want to know some behind the scenes of these two? I'm sure no one in Fairy Tail knows about the two's feelings…**

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><p><em><strong>1: Just sitting beside you<strong>_

**Gray:**

_I never get to be with her…_

_ That stellar spirit mage?_

_ Who am I kidding?_

Gray's thoughts swirled in his mind as he sat by the bar, his face rested on his right hand, wherein his right elbow rested on the bar table. Apparently he was looking at Lucy who sat beside him, seemingly listening to her as she ranted about small trivial things like… her apartment rent perhaps? Though he was partly at fault for her lost of funds, he finds himself quite pleased at the thought.

_At least I'm not a nobody in her world…_

He glances at Mirajane who cleans some glasses as she listens to Lucy's rant. He orders for something cold, anything on the menu, just to sit beside Lucy longer. If only Lucy knew, just the mere sight of her made him jump in delight inside his head. He was just glad there was no mage around Fairy Tail who could read his thoughts at the moment.

"… and then, Natsu, created a big fireball which almost destroyed my house, it's a good thing Gray was there to freeze everything up…" Lucy ranted. "Stupid Natsu cooking the wrong way when there's clearly a stove!" Lucy slammed the table with her palm.

"That fire idiot is so stupid," Gray added in a deadpan tone, so that he could disguise the feeling he was feeling "sometimes, I wonder if there is no end to his stupidity." He felt pleased that Lucy was relieved that he was there to save the day (or save her house).

"I had no idea that Natsu would like to cook," Mirajane said with a smile. "By the way, I don't see him around,"

"Erza dragged him to some errand," Gray said then he looked at Lucy. With a smile he said "That's why I'm able to relax today right?"

**Lucy:**

_I hate it when I lose my cool…_

_ Did he just smile?_

_ How come his smile was enough to make me stop and listen to my heart skip?_

Lucy stopped what she whatever she was doing when the ice mage beside her looked her way and smiled. She placed a fist over her chest and felt something skipping inside. It's true, that day, she begged Erza to bring Natsu along with her, but, during that time… she reasoned that it isn't right for a woman to go alone. Did she do it in purpose so that she could see Gray in the guild alone without Natsu around?

_Oh no…. I feel weird!_

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><p><strong>AN: Ok there you have it... My first GrayLu fic, what do you think? Please review xD**


	2. The Welcome Banner

**Secretly GrayLu by MangaJuiceXD**

**Summary: I'm sure Gray and Lucy have a platonic relationship, but would you want to know some behind the scenes of these two? I'm sure no one in Fairy Tail knows about the two's feelings…**

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><p><strong>2: The Welcome Banner<strong>

**Lucy: **

_La… la… la…_

_Another day without any trouble!_

_And…_

_For the first time, I'm able to complete a request without anybody's help! I never knew it could feel so satisfying!_

_Aaaah! I feel completely in charge of myself… and, the REWARD IS ALL MINE!_

Lucy walked in light happy steps on her way home. As usual, Plue was just below her, as happy as always. Lucy stretched her arms towards the sky; a sense of achievement was all she needed to feel good about herself. During the last week, her last request mission with the "Evilest team" didn't go quite well. The team kept on destroying lots of things, and if she wasn't that cautious enough, she would have gotten destroyed herself.

Lucy sighed.

They are her friends, yet, they sometimes drive her nuts. Thinking about last week's incident, she just realized that she was nothing compared to those three: Natsu, Erza, and Gray. She sometimes wondered if the three were human at all.

Her pace slowed down, "Plue," she said "Do you think I'm strong?"

"?"

"Haha," she gave an unsure laugh "It's just that Natsu, Gray and Erza are just so strong that is why I am nothing compared to them."

Plue just gave her a quizzical look.

"It just pains me whenever I think that way," she pouted "Anyways; I did a good job today, right Plue?"

Plue gave her a happy nod of approval.

As usual, when she passed by the river, she walked over the road's edge, which made the people around her say "Be careful miss," and the likes. With her arms outstretched, she felt that she was open, vulnerable, but then, she also felt free and independent. Her mind wandered about the recent events. She wished that her friends could have seen her. What would they say?

_Lucy, you were great?_

Natsu would be pleased and say that she was of great help. Erza would just smile with approval. Happy would forever praise her. Gray… Gray… what would he do? Lucy thought that maybe perhaps, just like Natsu, Gray would just congratulate her for a job well done.

_What am I thinking?_

_Gray only thought of me as a friend right?_

_I sometimes hated myself for thinking of him so much, that it feels like a crime._

_Lucy… Lucy… Lucy… please!_

She slapped her forehead out of frustration.

When her apartment came to view and her door suddenly came face to face with her. She gave a heavy sigh as she searched her pocket for her house key, with a downcast expression on her face (probably thinking too much of Gray on the way home). She found her key and placed it into the keyhole, and unlocked her door, she thought: _I guess thinking of him wouldn't hurt right?_

"WELCOME HOME LUCY!" boomed Gray's voice as she entered. He was even holding a piece of large canvas which said: CONGRATS LUCY.

Lucy gave a shriek. "TRESSPASSER!"

"How rude…" Gray said.

Lucy saw him sitting in the couch with his boxers. A frown formed in her face "Didn't I tell you no stripping in my house?"

"Ah so Lucy's home!" Natsu, who just came out of the bathroom said. "Welcome home!"

"Lucy! Thank goodness you're safe!" Happy, the flying cat said "Erza is sleeping in your room; she hopes wouldn't mind,"

Lucy sweatdropped. After completing a request, she can't even rest in peace? Then moments later, Natsu and Gray suddenly fought over a small thing again. She couldn't help but smile and giggle, she was truly home. She looked at the piece of canvas which had letters in them. Lucy noted that the letters were very well written and that the design was beautiful_, who would have done this pretty banner?_

**Gray:**

When Gray saw Lucy arrive home all well and healthy, he couldn't help but give a big sigh of relief. He was worried about her the whole day, and he was quite glad that Natsu was frantic and over reacting that Lucy went on a job alone. At least, he thought, somehow, Natsu seemed to project the violent feelings he held inside.

Since it was Lucy's first job alone, he tried to commemorate it by doing something extra special, that was when he saw a canvas lying randomly in the guild. After asking for some paint and paintbrushes, he started writing letters in the most proper fashion he could ever manage. Everyone in the guild stared at him with puzzlement. Feeling their stares, he simply said "What? I was just trying to congratulate her when she arrives… I don't think that there is anything wrong if I support her right?"

He felt relieved when Natsu and Happy suddenly said "Yeah! That sounds like a good idea Gray!"

And then, they began to help him.

Gray smiled at the memory.

When the night progressed and everybody was asleep, he stood and walked towards the window sill. He looked at the different sights of the night while his mind was wandering at all sorts of things.

"Gray," he heard Lucy's voice say behind him.

He turned around and saw her. "You're not yet asleep?"

"Uh… I just had to drink some water," The blond girl said and placed herself to his left side.

Gray could feel his heart skip like fireworks when she's near. He didn't see it coming but the girl held his left hand, while saying "Thank you Gray,"

Gray just gaped. He was just speechless.

Lucy smiled. "Happy told me that you were the one who made the banner, and for that… I'm forever grateful to have someone like you,"

Gray could feel a blush creeping to his cheeks that he looked the other way. "I knew you could do it," he said with a smile "You are a strong mage after all,"

_Yes, you are one of the most powerful and amazing mages I've ever met._

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><p><strong>AN: LOL this just randomly popped out of my head any suggestions...? Please feel free to review! I'd really appreciate that xD**


	3. The Red String of Fate

**Secretly GrayLu by MangaJuiceXD**

**Summary: I'm sure Gray and Lucy have a platonic relationship, but would you want to know some behind the scenes of these two? I'm sure no one in Fairy Tail knows about the two's feelings…**

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><p><strong>3: Red String of Fate<strong>

There was once a story…

That the great gods of the universe would tie an invisible red string around the ankles of men and women who are destined to be soul mates and will one day marry each other.

They call it the red string of fate.

* * *

><p><strong>Lucy:<strong>

"This seems to be cool stuff," Lucy told herself after she read the morning paper.

Thinking back, she remembered how everyone in her family told her that she was already in a marriageable age. Happy, the blue flying cat was with her when she read it.

"Oooh! That seems cute Lucy!" He exclaimed. "But, I do not see strings attached to anyone; well… at least… I've never met one…"

Lucy giggled. "That's silly; you don't see the strings…"

"Then how would you know?" Happy asked eagerly.

"I do not know, I guess… the heart knows right?" she answered. "How about you Happy? Who do you think it is?"

"Fish perhaps?" then the cat suddenly grinned at the thought. The blond girl thought that maybe he started dreaming about fishes again. _Silly Happy_, it is not like that… I mean _love_, we talk about love… soul mates perhaps, the ones you'll be with during the eternity. _You must have a man, mistress Lucy…_ the words of her household servants echoed in her mind. Lucy's mind stopped at the thought… damn right.

"How about you? Does Lucy have one?" The cat asked her.

_Do I have one?_

Her thoughts scanned through the men she had encountered in her life. However, one thought made her blush: Gray… he flashed through her mind with the duration of a second, yet it made her melt.

_I would want you to marry this man, if you do; we could be the most influential family due to our alliance with them… _the words of her father suddenly appeared after Gray's appearance in her mind. The sudden interruption in her train of thought made her cringe so much that she unconsciously made balls with her fists.

_Would I really need a man?_

_Am I not alright by myself?_

"I don't think I have one yet," she told Happy. "Do you think anyone in the guild knows about this?"

Happy shrugged.

"I think it would be nice to ask those mages" She smiled. "Hmmm… whom should I interview?"

…

"Red string of fate?" Mirajane said, unsure of what it meant. "Not sure if I know about that,"

…

"Red string?" Erza said "I don't need it," she said as she flaunted her long red hair which made Lucy and Happy jaw drop. "Besides… I don't need any man as long as I wear this armor!" then she suddenly ex-quipped. "With this armor, I could be as strong as any man! Haha…"

The two sweatdropped. She doesn't totally get the meaning of the phrase.

…

"Red String of fate?" Loki asked back, which made Lucy nod. "I know very little of it, I'm sure, one of my girlfriends told me that long ago… I think it was…"

Lucy watched him as he tried to remember whose girl said it. When it took him around 10 minutes to recall he said "Sorry, I forgot."

Lucy sighed… "Ok, Loki, Never mind… just go back to the spirit world…"

…

"Red String of What?" Natsu exclaimed.

"Nothing…" Lucy dismissed him.

"But you said something…" Natsu said, suspicion rising as he neared his face towards to Lucy's. "What are you up to?"

Lucy just grabbed him by the collar and violently shook him out of frustration "I said the red string of NOTHING!"

"Aaah… that's something," Happy said delight, seeing Natsu get dizzy by Lucy's violent shaking.

"And I'm up to nothing!" Lucy said as she threw Natsu across the guild. When everyone saw her did what she just have done, they began cheering her. "WOW! WE COULDN'T BELIEVE LUCY-CHAN WAS THAT STRONG!" most said in unison.

"That's not fair!" Natsu said, in a dizzy state… "She used me in my weak state,"

"What?" the girl exclaimed.

"See… I told you were a vehicle…" Happy suddenly told her which made Lucy shout _I'm NOT! Me a vehicle? ridiculous!_

…

When Lucy in defeated spirits, sat by the counter, Levy approached her.

"Why so down Lu-chan?" she asked with outmost concern.

"No one here in the guild is familiar with the red string of fate…" then after saying it, Levy noticed that Lucy just pouted more.

"Lu-chan, I have an idea… what if you do this?" Then she whispered something to the blond mage. While listening to her friend, it made Lucy smile in approval.

"Do you think that would work?" Lucy asked.

"Not sure, it's just for fun… but, who knows right?" Levy assured her.

…

That night, Lucy tried to find for a red ribbon in her drawers. She isn't sure about what Levy said, but, who knows right? She decided it's only game wherein she only knew the rules.

_Very similar to fishing huh…?_

She went to her balcony that night, and with the red string in her hand, she released the red ribbon that it cascaded down freely.

_Whoever noticed the red string and gets hold of it… might be the one… right? Who am I fooling? Red strings are supposed to be invisible right?_

_Have fun Lucy…_

_Don't take things seriously..._

_Haha… my brain must be right._

She then leaned over her balcony, waiting for someone to notice the red ribbon which dangled freely down the streets. Her right hand, which held the other end of the ribbon, began to sweat a little, as she looked to the moon, stars, and other possible imagery she could see by her balcony as the soft cold night air caressed her face lightly. Seconds turned to minutes, and minutes to an hour… she was getting impatient.

_Who would have noticed?_

_This is just a silly idea to begin with…_

Just as she was about to leave, because of the hopelessness of her situation, she felt a tug on the other end of the string. It startled her.

_Had someone noticed it?_

She looked down, her surprise mounted when she saw it was…

"GRAY!" she exclaimed. And then, it's as if the moon, stars and the night played a joke on them, a chilling wind suddenly blew and leaves from the surrounding trees began to fall in slow motion.

Unsure of what to do she just blurted out "What a surprise… I didn't see you in the guild earlier,"

"I had a job," he said. Lucy could feel that his grip tighten on the other end of the red ribbon.

"I see," Lucy said as she too tightened her grip. Her nervousness unknown to Gray, made her bite her own lip unconsciously.

Then when things suddenly became surreal for her, she suddenly heard something from Gray which made her face lighten up…

"The Red String of Fate," Gray suddenly said.

Lucy's eyes widened.

_He knew…?_

_Could it be…_

**Gray:**

When Gray was a young child, he recalled how often his teacher Ur would borrow magic books from the library. Sometimes, without her knowledge, he would sometimes get some books and secretly read them himself. It so happened that one day, he seemed to have grabbed a wrong book. It turned out that it was a romance novel. Who would have known that Ur was also into this stuff?

He decided to read it anyways…

That was when he encountered the concept of the "Red String of Fate" thing.

"Hey Lyon…" He asked his fellow Ur student who has been like a brother to him "Do you think there are such things as the red string of fate?"

"What's that?" he asked.

"It's an invisible string that the gods and goddesses attach to you and your mate… who could mine be?"

"Where did you get that idea?" Lyon asked him.

"Ur," He answered. "But, I do not like the idea, I'm not sure if I wanted to be attached to someone… there are lots of things that I wanted to do like defeat Deliora…"

"I'll defeat Ur," Lyon said with much that, his chat with Lyon about red strings and the likes came to an end.

…

"Red strings…?" Ur said when Gray asked her the same question he asked Lyon. "I do believe them…" she said with a smile.

…

"Red strings…" Gray repeated out loud for Lucy to hear. He stared up at her, she, who is like a princess in her balcony. "Do you believe them?"

Lucy just stared down at him. Then later she nodded and smiled. "I do… I do believe them," she answered,

Gray couldn't believe his eyes; the moment she smiled made the night seem brighter. After a tiring day of not seeing her, he felt instantly relieved.

"How about you Gray? Do you?" Lucy called to him.

They stared at each other for a long time, not letting go of the ends of the red ribbon which connected them both.

He remembered his own question as a child_, who could mine be?_

He never realized that time, age and experience could change his views… before, defeating Deliora was his purpose, but now, he seemed to have opened up to new opportunities.

As if the stars were smiling, the night wind teasing, the leaves falling… he finally answered her coolly "I do,"

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><p>And so the story concludes that…<p>

The two people connected by the red thread are destined lovers, regardless of time, place or circumstances. This magical cord may stretch or tangle, but never break.

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><p><strong>AN: Waaaah! So Cheesy! (well, at least I think so) I would just like to thank all of you who have reviewed my story… for the first time; I was able to get 11 reviews with just 2 chapters! That's victory for me guys and I really do appreciate you all for reviewing! xD**

**A million thanks to you… *bows head***

**BTW… I really laughed at one review that said I spelled "GrayLu" as "GayLu" haha I really LMAO with that ^^ So I changed it to save myself from further embarrassment O/O**

**And to those saying I'm good at writing, well thank you very much *bows lower* I would try my best. However, there are lots of other good writers out there, and I've also enjoyed their fics as well. You see, English is not my first language, so I kinda struggle in writing (esp. grammar -.-') Forgive me…**

**Don't worry; this wouldn't be the end… I still have lots in my mind right now ^^ You can also give me some suggestions… and right now I'm thinking of their first kiss! Hahaha wish me luck in writing the next chapter! :D**

**What do you think about the red strings? I always fantasized about them… ^^ Don't you think my chaps are getting a bit long…? But I don't mind! I love GrayLu! Hahaha xD**


	4. Isla de Verona Part 1

**Secretly GrayLu by MangaJuiceXD**

**Summary: I'm sure Gray and Lucy have a platonic relationship, but would you want to know some behind the scenes of these two? I'm sure no one in Fairy Tail knows about the two's feelings…**

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><p><strong>Wait!<strong>

**Before we proceed to next chapter….**

**Here's a GrayLu Omake from Red Strings of Fate**

**Lucy: **(while holding the red string)by the way Gray, what brings you here? Isn't your house the other way?

**Gray:** Huh? (Tilts head) I thought there was a sleepover tonight…

*Natsu's snore was suddenly heard outside*

**Lucy:** (sweatdrops) ehe-he-he… I forgot they were here…

**Gray:** Ok… (Releases red string and walks inside) I'm in…

**Lucy:** (Jaws drop) WHAT THE-! Dx

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><p><strong>4: Isla de Verona: PART 1<strong>

**MISSION:**

An island south of Magnolia is called Isla de Verona. Isla de Verona is a tropical island famed for its various water parks, water streets and water surroundings. The Island is also famous for being the number one honeymoon destination because everything about the place screams about LOVE.

However, the island was taken over by an evil mage by the name of Escalus. Escalus claimed the beautiful land as his own and drove the people away from their homes. Angry crowds of people tried to fight him, but failed.

As a result, the people of Isla de Verona were forced to relocate outside the island.

**OBJECTIVE:**

Defeat Escalus and bring the people of Isla de Verona back to their native land.

**REWARD:**

100, 000 Jewels

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><p><strong>Lucy:<strong>

_Isn't it romantic?_

_A mission at Isla de Verona… I read it in a travel guide somewhere, that the island is just the most romantic place here in Fiore. I have always dreamed of going there together with my loved one… however…_

_How come I get to go there with them*?_

*them meaning: Natsu, Erza, Gray and Happy

_Yeah right… we need money, during the last "sleepover" Natsu attacked Gray and then they fought again resulting to the wreckage of my furniture. They said that they would pay for it and buy new ones… however, how come do I have go with them with this mission to pay back their debt to me?_

Lucy sighed as she looked at the window. They had taken a train. Going to Isla de Verona, they had to take a train, a vehicle, and then a boat. Natsu wise… His head lay on Erza's lap after he was knocked down unconscious by the famed Titania.

"Must that stupid flaming idiot choose a job wherein the location is favorable to him?" Gray, who sat beside Lucy said "I mean, it's so painful to watch his pathetic face all bloated up like that…"

Lucy took a glance at Natsu, and she must admit that Gray is right. Natsu looked like the most pathetic creature in the planet. She watched Erza give Gray a scary look. She watched her eyes go scanning Gray from head to toe then toe to head. "Where is your outfit? Don't tell me you forgot to wear them…" she asked sternly.

Lucy watched Gray look at himself and realized that she was right. "OH SNAP! MY OUTFIT!" He exclaimed.

Erza's aura became darker as she made her knuckles sound "I thought I have made myself clear…"

And then… seconds later, Gray was already limp like Natsu and that Lucy had to support his head on her lap.

…

"Now we are here," Erza said as she stood on the deck that viewed the ocean and the Isla de Verona on the other side. "All we need is to take a boat in order to reach the other side, now our problem is… we don't have a boat,"

"Let's just swim!" Natsu said enthusiastically.

"No we won't!" Lucy said in objection.

"Fine!" Natsu said as he removed his clothes and began to attempt to dive in the ocean "I'll just swim alone then,"

"I SAID NO SWIMMING!" Lucy exclaimed. When she caught the sight of Gray standing idly on her side; she was surprised when she saw that he finally managed to have clothes. "Where did you get those clothes Gray?"

"There were some free clothe hanging over there…" he said as he pointed to a specific direction in the neighborhood. "It was so kind of the people here to provide clothes though…"

"IDIOT! THAT WAS THE CLOTHESLINE!" Lucy exclaimed even louder.

"I found a boat!" Erza said "But since, nobody is willing to take us, I'm afraid to inform you that we have to row it ourselves…"

…

"You can do it Lucy! You can do it Gray!" Happy exclaimed at the two who rowed the boat.

"Why must it be me?" Lucy almost wailed seeing that her arms are already sore in rowing. "Shouldn't it be Natsu and Gray rowing the boat since they are both guys?"

"Sorry to inform you Lucy, but Natsu passed out" Happy said as he pointed to the seasick Natsu who seemed to be endlessly throwing up on the sea.

"Come to think of it, his mouth even pollutes the ocean…" Gray said thoughtfully "But, it's a good thing Lucy cold replace him…"

"I'm not a Natsu replacement!" Lucy said with her face twisted in fatigue and pain… if only tears can go out naturally… (T.T)

_Damn! Couldn't he see that I'm having a hard time here? Ow! My muscles are all sore! Shouldn't Erza be the one rowing the boat since she seems stronger than me?_

"Hey Erza, how come you are not rowing?" Gray suddenly said.

"Sorry, but I'm the one giving directions here…" Erza said in full confidence "and… there are only TWO oars,"

Lucy and Gray gulped in fear when she expressed the word _TWO_.

"FULL SPEED AHEAD!" The red haired _captain_ said. "We must finish this job as quickly as possible!"

"AYE, AYE CAPITAN!" Lucy, Gray and Happy exclaimed in unison.

(Natsu pukes in the side)

…

"LAND!" Natsu suddenly got off the boat in a dizzy motion and began to kiss the land (or rather fell face first to the sandy beach). If you are wondering who the energetic ones were, it would be Happy and Erza. Meanwhile Gray and Lucy passed out just the same in the boat that Erza had to carry them both out.

It was sundown when they arrived. They decided to investigate the island first thing in the morning. They prepared their sleeping bags, caught a wild pig and roasted it by the fire. At the end of the day, the team of five decided to laugh, tell stories and sleep soundly like a baby… what they didn't know was that they are being watched.

…

Lucy woke up the next morning to find Natsu sleeping beside her. Because of their close proximity, she gave out a shriek and crawled away from him. Her shriek, however, did wake up the young fire mage.

"Where are we?" Lucy said "Where are the others?"

"What do you mean?" Natsu said while rubbing his eyes to rid of sleep.

Lucy suddenly stood up; she gave her surroundings a quick surveying look. She noted that they weren't in the sandy beach anymore, but somewhere deep within the forest. "Gray, Erza… and Happy are not with us…" Lucy finally spoke.

"WHAT? HAPPY IS NOT WITH US!" Natsu exclaimed and finally began searching for his beloved friend: Behind the tree, under a rock, under the stream, inside the cave, atop the trees, inside the beehive until they reached the village ruins. However, unlike the rumors Lucy have ever heard of Isla de Verona or any of the travel guides that she had read, there were no "water streets", no water parks, no water surroundings, and to be exact: everything was dry.

"What happened here?" Lucy said to herself "Why is nothing here? Why is everything so dry?"

Natsu then examined the soil with his hands; it felt brittle like sand or dust. "Something is not right…"

"It seems that whoever took over this land used its rich water supply… no wonder this is the land Escalus chose to nourish himself." Lucy said.

A rustle was heard by the bushes; Lucy and Natsu turned around and saw a little boy holding Happy.

"HAPPY!" Natsu exclaimed as he hugged Happy.

"Natsu I'm glad you are alright!" The cat exclaimed "I thought I'd never see the rest of you guys… I woke up and I was all alone, it's a good thing Cedric here was able to save me," Happy said as he introduced the young boy to Natsu.

"Thanks, Cedric," Natsu said. When he smiled, Cedric began to cry.

"Ahhh… Cedric!" Lucy said as she went down to the little boy's eye level. "Don't cry," but the boy just cried louder.

"That concludes that Lucy wouldn't become a good mother," Natsu said.

"Aye," Happy agreed.

"What was that all about?" Lucy exclaimed at her other two companions.

…

"So you mean to say that you lived here?" Natsu asked the boy. He nodded.

"And Escalus took over your place?" He asked again to which the boy nodded.

"Your family and neighbors accidentally left you alone here?" The boy nodded.

"So that means you are the only one here?" Another nod was seen.

"Why don't you hell talk?" Natsu exclaimed.

"I never talk to idiots like you," Cedric said.

Lucy rolled her eyes, _He did talk. _"Anyway Cedric, we need to know where Escalus is so that we could defeat him. The primary reason why we are here was because somebody sent our guild a request to retrieve back your land. Cedric, your family hasn't abandoned you, so that is why they asked us for help so that they could be with you again…"

Once again, the child got teary eyed "You really think so?"

Lucy smiled "sure,"

"Ok…" Then Cedric led the group to Escalus' fortress.

…

The fortress looked more like medieval ruin than a palace. Its stone walls are dark, earthen and covered with moss. The cracks around the fortress are covered by overgrown thorny vines. In short, it wasn't very welcoming.

Lucy gave a slight frown. "So… we are going inside that building right?"

"What are we waiting for?" Natsu said in good spirits "Bring it on Escalus! We're going to defeat ya!"

So when the group came in, they find a path leading to the Garden in the center of the fortress. It was Cedric who led the way, since he said he had seen where Escalus has been staying. They reached a hidden garden with a giant tree in the center. Below the tree was a pool of beautiful crystal clear water. It made the team gasp at the beauty that surrounded them.

The team hid behind a huge rock to survey the place, they tried to find for a man named Escalus, only to be shocked that they saw a woman with mystic green hair, waxen like skin, crystal clear eyes and a doll like face. She wore a blue-white cloak and had a white sword in her right hand. Instead of ears, she had two small white wings. Her face was slightly at their direction, but then she turned her back at them. Lucy watched her as she approached two figures tied up to the gigantic tree: a male and a female. Lucy gasped in horror when she realized the figures were no other than Gray and Erza.

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><p><strong>AN: Ok… Cliffhanger… Sorry guys… I really tried my best to condense this whole idea into 2 chapters but I guess I failed. D: We didn't even get to see Gray's side of the story! Before any violent reactions to the chapter (Yeah… I kinda paralleled the chapter to RomeoXJuliet if you knew the anime) I just wanted you to know, that this (Isla de Verona) arc is inspired by some Italian romance theme… yet, I think you must read the rest of the arc.**

**I had to stop here because if I continue, it might get too long. Promise, I'll try to update as fast as I can. You'll be surprised (or not) at the stupid idea I had for this arc. Sorry, no kiss as promised… but the good news is… we are getting there!(yey! Clap! Clap!) Please don't get so impatient ^.^'**

**Just comment if I get a bit Out-of-character… but one thing about this chap, is that I'm able to play with them like a weird bunch of friends, I guess I got a bit carried away so there… the Isla de Verona arc might take 3 chapters I think. *sweatdrops***

**I really appreciate last chapter's reviews, and to be honest, I would like to try the red string thing myself too. Sadly, I haven't done it yet… haha. The omake in the opening of this chapter just randomly popped in my head.**

**Sorry, one review said that the 3****rd**** chapter resembles a song "If" by Kana Nishino. To be honest, I haven't heard about the song, but I did listen to it, and now it's already in my youtube favorites. :D**

**Again, if you have any suggestions, just tell me… and I'll see if I can write about that, right now, my notepad is already full of GrayLu ideas. Please review! I'd really appreciate that xD**


	5. Isla de Verona Part 2

**Secretly GrayLu by MangaJuiceXD**

**Summary: I'm sure Gray and Lucy have a platonic relationship, but would you want to know some behind the scenes of these two? I'm sure no one in Fairy Tail knows about the two's feelings…**

* * *

><p><strong>5: Isla de Verona: PART 2<strong>

Escalus…

A powerful mage who stays inside an abandoned fortress…

Shrouded with mystery,

He is not instantly seen by men…

What secret does he hold?

* * *

><p><strong>Lucy:<strong>

_It can't be…_

Lucy could feel her heart beat wildly inside her…

_It can't be…_

She could feel her hands getting sweaty with anxiety rushing through her veins…

_Gray!_

The mere sight of him in that state made her cry like crazy inside. It worried her….

…_And Erza too?_

Lucy cannot believe it.

_We must save them!_

Before she could even think of a strategy to save them, Natsu was already out of their hiding place walking toward the mysterious woman. Lucy watched as Natsu stood behind the astonishing beauty. The woman did not even dare to turn and acknowledge his presence which made Lucy uncomfortable. _Why wouldn't the woman turn and look at him?_

"What did you do to Erza and Gray?" Natsu asked.

The woman slowly turned to face him. Her face was calm and mask like, it didn't posses any trace of emotion. "How durst must one like thee step on thy holy grounds? Hast thee no shame?"

"I don't care if this is a holy place, give my friends back!" Natsu told the lady once again.

"I care none…" The lady said "Many a guild were besought to come hither, thou just one of thee…"

Vines then suddenly enveloped Natsu's legs. He tried to move free yet the vines held him fiercely steady on his spot.

"Let me go!" Natsu said.

The lady just gave him a brief look. "Escalus," she said in a soft gentle tone. Lucy noted that her voice was devoid of any emotion, yet it wasn't like that of a robot. Her voice almost sounded delicate and melodious like a drop of water into a pool's smooth surface, or like a faint whisper in the dark. "His will shalt never be defied…"

The vines that encircled Natsu's legs reached up to his waist. The more that Natsu struggled, the more the vines grew. "When water hast nourish thy holy, beloved, sacred tree… Escalus shalt gain power…" The lady eyed Natsu, "Escalus is thy form of thy tree… I, Escalus' spirit, in thy human form, am its protector… thou hast no right to interfere thee…"

She walked towards Natsu. Lucy couldn't understand what made Natsu was so motionless, it isn't so like him. She watched as the lady approached the half-asleep Natsu. The vines that wrapped Natsu's body clung tighter, as the lady approached him; she placed her hand at Natsu's face and gave him a deep kiss in the lips.

Lucy, Happy and Cedric dropped their jaws at the sight of what just have happened.

"Oh my! It's Natsu's first kiss!" Happy exclaimed.

"Escalus has the ability to hypnotize people… that is why Natsu doesn't seem to react so much," Cedric said.

"I think you have a point," Lucy said "however, I don't think it is about being hypnotized; rather, I think she had the ability to calm people… I mean, just listening to her voice… it's so calm and soothing, that it was able to make Natsu sleep…"

Lucy grabbed hold of her keys in her pocket, "We must wake them up from their slumber,"

"Now," The lady said to Natsu "Thou shall be holy sacrifice to Escalus!"

"NO HE WOULDN'T!" Lucy said as she jumped out of her hiding place which made the lady's attention turned towards her.

"A fere I see," The beautiful lady said "Why hast thou tarry? Thy friend hither hath been ready, thy too late already, henceforth, thy young lad shalt be sacrifice to thy holy tree…"

"Since you wouldn't listen to me," Lucy said as she grabbed a golden key "Open the Gate of the Water Bearer! Aquarius!"

A few seconds later, Aquarius, a mermaid-like celestial spirit appeared. The spirit possessed a blue tail and hair, and an urn which she uses to wield her power. However like all the times Lucy summoned her, Aquarius seemed to be half-willing to help her.

"How dare you summon me this time when I am having fun with my boyfriend?" Aquarius scolded Lucy.

"I'm sorry Aquarius, but now is not the best time to scold me," Lucy said as she tried to reason with her difficult celestial spirit. All she needs is Aquarius' power to put her plan into action.

"A celestial maiden I see," The lady said "however, no such power would equivalent Escalus' will."

"You summoned me just for this?" an irritated Aquarius said "didn't I tell you to not bother me this week?"

"Aquarius, I need you to make a gigantic tidal wave here," Lucy said. Her purpose was for her friends to wake up from their slumber. "If you do, I promise, I won't bother you for a month."

Aquarius looked around her. "But this is such a lovely place; do you think I'll do what you ask?"

"huh?" Lucy said in annoyance.

The celestial mage and her spirit started arguing. The mysterious lady sighed "I see, a maiden trying to control her spirit… Such a spirit is pathetic for naught following thy master, henceforth thy powerful spirit, shalt be mine and serve me…"

The lady raised her arm and her fingers pointed towards Aquarius, powerful vines threatened to attack Aquarius however the evil tempered spirit howled in anger "I REFUSE TO SERVE UNDER NO ONE YOU PATHETIC BITCH!" then she summoned a gigantic wave (much to Lucy's delight), that it suddenly cut off all the vines that attacked her and also those which kept Natsu captive. The waves also washed over Gray and Erza's forms, and as always, it washed Lucy as well.

When Aquarius returned to the spirit world she threatened Lucy that she would never be forgiven if she ever has to encounter a lady like Escalus again. She even mocked Lucy that she'll never have a boyfriend if she gets caught in ridiculous situations like this. Lucy sweatdropped. _It happens all the time…_

Natsu, who just came back to his senses, started to emit flames around his body. _At least, _Lucy thought, _he is already in the right mood to fight_.

"Lucy," Natsu said "Find Gray and Erza… they should be here somewhere,"

"Ok," Lucy answered him, and thus begins the fight between Natsu and the lady.

Lucy, together with Happy and Cedric tried to find for the Gray and Erza, they finally found them. The two seemed unconscious; Lucy tries to wake up Gray, while Happy tries to wake up Erza. The bodies were as cold as ice; it almost made Lucy fear for them, later the bodies loses its form, only it to be revealed as cold broken ice.

"Gray! Erza!" Happy said in panic.

"It can't be!" The lady exclaimed when she saw what happened to the bodies "They art supposed to be thy sacrifice upon Escalus!"

"It seems that you were fooled!" Natsu exclaimed as he did his _Fire Dragon's Roar_. Lucy watched him as he inhaled and breathed a long line of fire to be aimed at the lady. However the lady uses her vines as a shield to protect her from the hot burning flames of the dragon slayer.

"Thou can't defeat Escalus' will" The lady said, now, her calm face is starting to form an amused expression that is between a crazy one and an intoxicated one. "Escalus shalt remain here and bear thy massive power and destroy the world's existence!"and then she unleashed a powerful vine attack towards Natsu, to which Natsu counterattacks with a _Fire Dragon's Iron Fist_ in order to punch the vines out of the way and burn his attacker.

"Yey! Way to go Natsu!" Lucy exclaimed with Happy and Cedric.

Hurt and humiliated, the lady eyed the blond girl cheering for her friend; soon, she summoned a big scaly dragon to snatch Lucy and the others away.

**Gray:**

_What was that thing? The thing that came and tried to snatch us in our sleep? It's a good thing I was able to 'Ice Make: Dummy' to confuse that green haired lady and her pet dragon._

Gray was walking with Erza for almost an hour now. Apparently they had no idea of where to go. The island called Isla de Verona was quite big that they found themselves walking through its forests. As usual, Erza walked in her armor while Gray walked half-naked*.

*half-naked meaning: silver necklace, pants and boots only

"I wonder were the others had gone to," Gray said "There isn't even a single trace of them"

"As long as Natsu is together with Lucy, we wouldn't have any problems…" Erza said.

_That's the problem! _Gray's mind seemed to scream. _Lucy is alone with Natsu! What if he does something inappropriate? When I woke up, I was alone with Erza… separated from Lucy, Natsu and Happy…then moments later, we heard some strangers, I heard Erza mouth the name "Escalus" and then I decided to create copies of us to escape them and find for our nakama…_

"You're becoming so quiet there Gray," Erza commented "Are you getting paranoid, it's not that Natsu would do something to Lucy…"

With Erza teasing him, made Gray feel goose bumps. _What if… that mysterious lady had held Lucy, Natsu and Happy as captives?_

"How are we supposed to find for Escalus' hiding place?" Erza said.

"How about looking at the sky?" Gray joked, but to his surprise Erza did what he told her. _Stupid Erza… I didn't mean I what I said…._

Seconds later, they heard a dragon heading their direction; along with the dragon they could hear screams.

"Do you hear something approaching?" Erza said "You are right when you said to look up the sky,"

Later, a dragon came holding three individuals…

"Lucy!" Gray said in surprise.

"And Happy too!" Erza said.

They watched the dragon struggling to hold them; however it dropped two individuals above them. "Gray! Erza!" Happy exclaimed as he held Cedric by the tail.

"Aaaah! Don't drop at me!" Gray shouted as he tried to avoid them, but sadly, Happy and Cedric then landed on top of him. Gray gave a big "Ooomph!"

"Why didn't you fly you stupid cat?" Gray said annoyed at Happy for flattening him to the ground.

"Aaah Gray! We missed you!" Happy said and introduced Cedric to the two other mages. "That reminds me!" Happy said "Lucy is still being taken by the dragon, and Natsu is in the fortress battling the green lady called Escalus,"

"I thought Escalus is a man," Gray said.

"Aye, that's what I thought too…" Happy said.

"Gray, go and rescue Lucy, I'll go and find Natsu," Erza commanded.

"Fine," Gray said with a laid back attitude, "You go help the flaming idiot, he probably needs you,"

Erza smiled at him and then changes into her Black Wing Armor and leaves them.

…

Gray, together with Happy and Cedric continued to head the direction where the black dragon has taken Lucy. They reach a place where in a giant waterfall could be seen. Happy said that this is the second place that he has seen water. Isla de Verona had lost its rich water supply due to the feeding the gigantic tree in the fortress. Gray speculated that maybe this place with rich water would be their next target.

"We must stop them!" Cedric cried. Gray looked at the young boy with sandy hair and blue eyes. He told them that the mages from Fairy Tail would help him and the people who used to stay in Isla de Verona.

They find Lucy tied to a tree and watched how the black dragon morphed into a man with dark hair, dark eyes, and a dark cloak.

"Lucy!" Happy said as their small group approached the captive.

"Gray! Happy! Cedric!" Lucy exclaimed with delight, "Thank goodness you all arrived,"

"It's alright Lucy, we're here," Gray said as he removed the ropes attached to Lucy.

"I never knew you'd have so much company," The man in black said.

Gray put Lucy behind him as if he was shielding her from the man in front of them. "Name's Gray Fullbuster from Fairy Tail, who are you?" Gray asked the man.

"Oh, it was rude of me, I never knew you'd still do introductions since you'd be a sacrifice for Escalus," He answered "I am Hermano, Escalus' most trusted apprentice,"

He walked towards them "I'm amazed that you are able to escape us,"

"I'm quite surprised that my 'Ice make: Dummy' worked on you guys, because I'm pretty sure, most of our opponents have already differentiated a fake one from the real one… I just didn't expect that you'll have such a low level of understanding,"

"How dare you get so cocky!" Hermano said as he turned himself into the black dragon. "You're not worthy to be a sacrifice for Escalus, I must kill you," He then spewed out black flames.

"Ice make: Shield!" Gray said as he created a huge wall of ice that was able to block the opponent's dark flames. However, the thick ice wall began to melt as the black flames forced through the ice.

"Lucy, Happy, Cedric, get out of here, I'll handle him," Gray told his companions.

The dragon began to spit out more flames, yet Gray, being a good ice mage was able to freeze them, thus surprising his opponent.

"Ice make: Geyser!" He commanded, and several spikes of ice that were meant to impale the opponent rose from the ground, however, he failed since the dragon was agile and was able to fly away.

"Ice Make: Bow!" "Ice Make: Arrow!" He commanded again and now, with a bow and three arrows, he was able to hit the flying dragon in the sky. As the dragon struggled over its injuries, it was able to spit black flames towards Gray which burned the young lad. However, the young mage's endurance was high that he was able to create an ice shield around himself before the opponent could burn him whole.

Gray later did the Ice Blade: Seven Slice Dance against Hermano. After creating sharp blades of ice in his arms, he begins to rapidly slash Hermano seven times. The attack had made the opponent dizzy and weak. It was after the attack that Gray shouted "Ice make: Prison!" to entrap the dragon Hermano inside the cage. Hermano destroys the frozen cage and decides to charge Gray. As his final attack Gray uses the attack of "Ice make: Cold Excalibur!" The result: Gray was able to make a big sword out of ice and stabs his opponent.

Hermano then goes from a dragon to an unconscious man in black robes.

Gray pants in exhaustion as he was the clear victor of the duel. He feels Lucy suddenly hug him from behind. His eyes grew wide for a moment due to sudden contact. He felt her sigh heavily behind him and heard a faint "thank goodness" from her. To be honest, just feeling Lucy hugging him after a battle made him felt so light inside.

He turned to face her and saw her eyes a bit red. He placed a hand on her cheek, "Did you… just cry?"

"Idiot! I didn't cry for you!" Lucy said while hitting him. "Something just got to my eyes, that I kinda rubbed them…"

_As if… _Gray thought as he looked at her _I knew you were worried… well maybe at least… worried… a bit… maybe…_

"Anyways, what is this place?" Lucy asked

"Now that you mention it," Happy said "Cedric seems to be missing,"

"Oh no…" Lucy said "We have to find him,"

…

As Happy flew to find for Cedric, Lucy and Gray searched for the boy on foot until they seemed to have stumbled upon an abandoned garden full of poorly nourished red roses. On the middle of the garden was a grave.

"This place seemed so gloomy," Lucy said

"Yeah…" Gray agreed "Full of stone angels too,"

The two walked around, Gray, seemingly to enjoy Lucy's company alone.

"Oh look!" Lucy exclaimed "A rose pavilion," Gray watched her as she explored the pavilion. _Why do girls like this kind of stuff anyway_?

"I knew Isla de Verona was the most romantic place here in Fiore!" Lucy smiled as she became intoxicated with the mysterious beauty that surrounded them. Gray then saw Lucy in a different light, and was sure happy that he could have her alone. He smiled at the thought and run his fingers through his dark spiky hair.

"Look Gray, there's a tombstone here, an epitaph maybe?" Lucy said as she pulled him closer. They read what was written:

_Two households, both alike in dignity,_

_In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,_

_From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,_

_Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean._

_From forth the fatal loins of these two foes_

_A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;_

_Whole misadventured piteous overthrows_

_Do with their death bury their parents' strife._

_The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love,_

_And the continuance of their parents' rage,_

_Which, but their children's end, nought could remove,_

_Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage;_

_The which if you with patient ears attend,_

_What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend._

"Doesn't it sound like Romeo and Juliet?" Gray asked his companion.

"It seems so…" Lucy said, and then seconds later she exclaimed "Ah! That's why everything seemed so familiar!"

"What is?" Gray asked.

"The whole mission!" Lucy said excitedly "Everything is related to the story of Romeo and Juliet,"

"But, isn't that just written by a famous playwright?"

"But," Lucy said "I've read an article that maybe Romeo and Juliet's story was real… and now… No wonder we found their graves!"

"You have a point" Gray agrees.

As they approached the grave of the deceased lovers, a voice whispers:

"_Escalus hast been defeated,_

_However, Isla de Verona hath been made from love,_

_And from love doth only sprung thy eternal spring,_

_Love hath obstacles,_

_But doth worry naught,_

_For love itself is wonderful,_

_Love itself is just,_

_Like the days of yore, everything doth begin with a kiss."_

The voice itself was melodious, like a mother hushing her children to sleep. Gray felt relaxed, and after seeing Lucy succumb into a deep slumber, he took hold of her hand and then just let his body give in to sleep's magical spell. He tried to wonder what the words meant, and he would soon learn the meaning of the mysterious slumber that swept him and Lucy when they wake up.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: One face: ****（*へ*）**

**I didn't intend for it to end like this, however if I continue to the time they wake up, it'll be too long. I appreciate the reviews! Btw.**

**Isla de Verona arc is getting pretty interesting no? haha and lots of spirits… lol (like ghost town with a romantic twist) I'm glad that I managed to make the characters not OOC, I kinda hate it when they do. I just wanted my readers feel like this story, could be inserted within the manga (even if it doesn't) LOL.**

**My head bled from the fighting scenes to old English… it's one of my weak points, but anyways, as always, I hope you had fun reading and spread the GrayLu love! Yey xD **

**Hope you did like the very Shakespearean feel of this chap, because, I like it too ^^**

**Please review, I'd really like that :D You guys wouldn't mind if I changed the rating to T right?**


	6. Isla de Verona Part 3

**Secretly GrayLu by MangaJuiceXD**

**Summary: I'm sure Gray and Lucy have a platonic relationship, but would you want to know some behind the scenes of these two? I'm sure no one in Fairy Tail knows about the two's feelings…**

* * *

><p><strong>FYI:<strong>

When the Escalus' human form (The lady) kissed Natsu, it meant she had marked him as a sacrifice to Escalus (the tree form)

Who knows if she had done it to the "bodies" of Erza and Gray too

* * *

><p><strong>6: Isla de Verona: PART 3<strong>

_A curse hath been said… _

_Everything doth begin with a kiss…_

_For if it'd be done…_

_Thy eternal spring shall be sprung…_

* * *

><p><strong>Lucy:<strong>

_Before sleep enveloped me… A melodious voice seemed to have wrapped me into a loving embrace… something like a mother's embrace. The voice sounded like a woman, but unlike Escalus' voice, it was full of emotion. It seemed as if she had been weeping for a long time. If only I could see her, I would have comforted her. Instead, I just saw a thin mist with flickering lights… lights of different colors and hues… like little pixies dancing in front of me, as the sleep embraced me. The faint scent of roses around me seemed to have amplified. I must be dreaming because… a while ago, I was worried about Natsu… Erza… then Gray… Cedric has gone missing too. I figured that I can't sleep, but my eyes were already closed. Then I felt Gray take hold of my hand. I suddenly felt calm. It's funny that just his mere presence made everything calm within my heart. So, I surrendered. I must have squeezed his hand back, it's like telling him that I'm just beside him… I wonder if, he feels the same way too…_

Lucy felt her back sore as if she had overslept. She knew somebody is hugging her, she assumed that it was Erza. Her eyes were still closed. She felt that she was in a really cozy bed. What could have happened after the _garden _incident, had they found Cedric? Did Natsu and Erza defeat Escalus? Lucy wanted to know the answers so badly that she decided to open her eyes. When she opened them, she saw not Erza but Natsu.

Natsu, hugging her? Creepy.

Later, Natsu let out a very intoxicated grin… like he was half-asleep, half-awake. Lucy watched in horror as he said "Igneel, I missed you… let me kiss you…" then began to do a kissing motion with his lips towards her.

She let out a scream.

Natsu woke up, seeing that he was _so close to her during his sleep_.

So close during his sleep…

So close…

SO CLOSE!

Both mages screamed in panic. Natsu even jumped out of the bed in disgust that it made Lucy fall from the bed to the floor that it made a loud 'thud' and a sore bottom. She felt naked so she grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around her. During the initial shock, she couldn't help but scream louder and louder. "NATSU! WHAT ARE TRYING TO DO TO ME? ARE YOU TAKING ADVANTAGE OF ME?" She screamed as she began to throw stuff at him: pillows, blankets, chairs… name it.

"AS IF I'D TAKE ADVANTAGE OF YOU GRAY!" Natsu said in reply. "I WAS JUST DREAMING!"

"WHAT?" Lucy asked the pink haired mage who just called her Gray.

"I'D RATHER DIE THAN KISSING YOU," Natsu argued again. "Eeew… that was disgusting, me kissing you? Are you out of your mind? Blah… blah… blah…"

Lucy wrapped the blanket tighter. Something is not right, Natsu kept on saying things, but she couldn't understand them but one thing is for sure…

"… even if I die, I won't lose to you GRAY!" an angry Natsu said.

"Wha-?" Lucy said "you called me Gray?"

"huh?" Natsu said "Of course you are!"

Lucy's eyes grew wide. She tried to feel her body: She had no breast, she was taller than Natsu, and she had short hair… OH NO! WHAT IN THE WORLD IS HAPPENING!

She screamed again and then pushed Natsu away as she ran to the bathroom. She locked the door and ran towards the mirror. Instead of seeing her face, she saw Gray's. OH MY… WHAT HAPPENED JUST NOW?

_Don't tell me… I'm inside his body?_

She rubbed her eyes harder, she slapped herself awake, but nothing is changing… nothing is freakin' changing! She stared at her form: Her blonde hair is reduced to black. Her body is all muscle, and her stomach… well, it was all hot, hot abs… but still! Who would want to wake up and discover that you lost your body? This can't be happening! Lucy jumped around the bathroom, frantic and confused of not knowing what to do…

There was a knock in the door.

Just the mere sight of the vibration of the door threatening to go down caused her to run towards it and press her body to keep it shut. In the other side, Natsu was starting to knock violently, yelling "Is there anything wrong Gray?"

"I- I'm alright!" Lucy managed to say in a loud shaky voice. "Just tell me where we a-are!"

"We are back from Isla de Verona!" Natsu yelled back from the other side of the door "This afternoon, we would be taking the train back to Magnolia…"

_So… this must be a hotel…._

_Oh no! I must find my body! What kind of magic happened? _Then a thought struck her… _GRAY! I need to find him! If I am in his body, then he must probably be in my…_

"NATSU! Where is Erza and Gr- Lucy?" Lucy asked the fire mage in the other side of the door.

"In the other room beside ours…" Natsu replied.

_Ok… I gotta find him…_

_But, _

She looked in the mirror…

_I need to put on clothes… I'm just wearing boxers…._

Luckily enough, she was able to spot a decent white shirt and a pair of pants that randomly hung around the bathroom. She quickly grabbed it and dressed. When she finished, she heard a shriek from the other room. Seconds later, Erza came barging into their room (She broke the door). She heard Natsu answer her and an enraged Erza stormed inside and said that Lucy had gone crazy, what's worse, she had left her clothes and began running away…

Lucy clenched her fists…

_Damn you Gray! You have no right running naked in my body!_

An angry Lucy then emerged from the bathroom. "WHERE DID SHE GO!" she demanded the two. Erza just simply point to a specific direction and Lucy thanked her and ran off.

…

Outside…

_That stupid Gray… Is he that shocked? Why can't he keep his cool like what he used to do?_

Later, she saw a huge crowd of men gather around a person. She heard them say:

"What a hot chick…"

"She has some guts, but this is some treat…"

"Hey miss, you have nice underwear…"

Lucy jawdropped. Clearly they were talking about her body gone naked in such a public place. Even if she isn't the one naked herself, she felt otherwise.

"Perverts," she said as she pushed her way through the crowd. When she already got in sight of her body, she planned to grab her body (with Gray inside) and run off, however before she got her chance, one guy suddenly touched her body inappropriately, she watched how Gray gave the man a death glare and sent him flying. A riot soon followed, Lucy was able to get that chance to pull Gray out of the mess.

…

"Look at you!" she scolded Gray who stayed in her body. "Didn't you even think that you are inside my body? Who gave you permission to strip off like that? Arrrghhh!"

Gray just looked at her "Did we really switch?"

Realizing that they did switch, the two panicked and screamed around. Mostly jumping and running in circles.

"Are you stupid? Look at you, look at me…" Lucy said. "Something weird has happened back at the island…" Seeing Gray just wearing her favorite pair of underwear made her cringe inside. She removed her shirt and handed it over to him to wear.

Gray scratched his head as he put on the loose big white shirt. "You just wear to much clothing…"

Lucy scoffed. Somehow, part of her just screams that everything was a dream… a BAD dream. She gave Gray another look "What do you plan to do?"

"Eat? Perhaps, I'm hungry," then he pulled Lucy by the wrist, but as they started to walk, she stopped.

"Wait!" she said… she fidgeted and then sighed. "I… I… I need to pee…"

Gray's eyes suddenly enlarged "You what?"

"Gray," Lucy said "It's my morning routine to always pee before the day starts…" her tone somewhat desperate.

"Ok, Ok," Gray said and tried to find for a public comfort room. When they arrived, Lucy unsure of what's gonna happen next, asked awkwardly "Is… is there any… some kind of orientation before I start?"

Gray blushed. Embarrassment and awkwardness started to mix in the pit of his stomach. Still, he tried to act matter-of-factly to lessen the embarrassment and awkwardness he felt. "Uh… here's what you do… just stand still… and… guide it so that it won't go anywhere… ok?"

"Ok…?" Lucy said unsure, and when she reached the urinal… she screamed.

…

"Do you have to scream like that?" Gray scolded her as she went out of the comfort room. He gripped her arm and led her to place with less people. "You're embarrassing me,"

"Serves you right!" Lucy said as she folded her arms "I never expected _Little Gray_ would look like that,"

"What?" Gray said "How dare you call it _little_? For your information, mine is better than Natsu's!"

Lucy laughed. "Haha, got pissed off with the word _little_?" and continued to tease him until Gray put out out his hand (or her hand) in front of her.

"Do you see this?" an annoyed Gray said and then threatened to put the hand at Lucy's breast.

"DON'T TOUCH THAT! I WARN YOU!" Lucy said in alarm when she saw what Gray was planning. Gray grinned.

"Why wouldn't I? This is my body now…" Gray teased more. And with slow motion, he placed his hand nearer and nearer to Lucy's breast, wherein Lucy instinctively blocked his hand by touching her breast. To make things worse, Gray even faked a scream that caught the people's attention. As a result, lots of people stared at them.

"He's harassing me," Gray said and pointed at Lucy touching _his_ breast.

"Are you out of your mind?" Lucy snarled at him.

"Being a girl has some advantages right?" Gray said. "To be honest, I'm kinda enjoying this,"

"I'll make you regret you said that," Lucy said as she raised an eyebrow. Seeing Natsu and Erza in a distance…

_Oh… shoot! They shouldn't see us…_

Lucy then told Gray that Natsu and Erza were looking for them. They both agreed that they shouldn't be seen like this. They ran, however their two companions spotted them and a wild chase around the place happens. They ran through the market place, destroying many merchandise and stalls. This caused the vendors to throw various items at them, while some started chasing them.

"YEAH! CHASE AFTER THEM!" They heard Natsu yell with enthusiasm.

"Natsu! This isn't a game!" Lucy yelled back. As she and Gray continued to run away from them. Though still in Lucy's body, the great ice mage was still able to use ice magic and froze the ground causing most of their pursuers to cut their numbers to half. But when Erza became serious in chasing them and began to use her sword to charge through, Gray was able to make a massive ice wall to block their attacks. When he'd blocked them, he created an ice slide that lead to the other side for them to escape. He even created two ice dummies in their image to trick the others that they went the other direction.

When they were escaping, Gray grabbed her hand.

Lucy couldn't help but be amazed at the great skill and quick thinking that he just demonstrated back there. It made her realize, that there is more to him, than just being 'him' that she knew.

**Gray:**

_When we've lost them, we ended up on a beach. Don't ask me how, but we didn't go that far. This day had been so crazy. I woke up and I saw Erza sleeping naked beside me. It alarmed me so much that I ran away. While running away, I realized that I am not in my body… that I'm in someone's body. I just ran outside as if escaping something. I decided to stay in the park, thinking of what to do, when somebody touched me inappropriately. Annoyed at his rudeness, I sent him flying. That was when I saw myself get me… I mean… Lucy was in my body and I was inside hers… kinda weird, but cool stuff too. You see… when I woke up, the first thing I did was touch her…_

"We need to fix this," Lucy said "I can't let you stay in my body, who knows what you have touched?"

Gray just stared at her. "You've already touched mine right? So what's the problem?"

"Why do you say things so casually?" Lucy said.

"Enough said," Gray said "At least I'm still able to use my ice magic while staying in your body," When he said this, he began to sway his hips and pout his lips to annoy her.

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Please Gray, while we are in this state, we must think of a solution… We must go back to the basics… you, are in my body right now. Don't touch anything without my consent… you do not know anything about my body, so tell me if there is anything wrong. And please, don't run around naked! My body isn't used to sub-zero freezing temperatures. Also, when in my body, don't pick fights with Natsu… understand?"

_As if I'd do all of that…_

"Ok… here's mine, just run naked and nobody would suspect it."

Lucy just gave him annoyed stare.

He stared back.

…thus beginning they're staring battle.

They were then interrupted by Happy, who flew finding for them. "Gray! Lucy! We need to go back to the guild!"

…

Sitting in the train beside Lucy, with a motion-sick Natsu and Erza in front of them made Gray more annoyed than ever. He must find a way to go back to his body. When his mind thought of all other possible reasons of why such thing happened, Erza remarked "You two have been so quiet all the way back… did something happened?"

The two responded in unison: "He/She annoys me!"

"By the way Erza, what happened way back at the island?" Gray asked the Titania.

"Natsu and I were able to defeat Escalus," Erza began "and thanks to Gray who defeated the dragon apprentice and saving you, Happy said you all looking for Cedric who suddenly disappeared..."

"What happened to Cedric?" Lucy suddenly asked interrupting Erza. Erza just gave Lucy a puzzled look. Gray looked at Lucy who stayed in his body. _It's weird seeing myself act so girly…_

"Cedric is fine," Erza said. "It so happened that both of you slept for 3 whole days… The people of Isla de Verona were able to get back to their homes and we are able to get our reward. End of story."

"Oh… I see," Gray said with a blank facial expression.

"Thank goodness Cedric is fine… and the city is safe, too bad we weren't able to have any romantic tour around the city," Lucy said with a sigh and a smile.

Erza gave Lucy a weird look: something that says _'What-is-wrong-with-you?'_ look.

At the moment, Gray wished he would just disappear.

…

They reached the guild by sundown. After reporting the mission, the four mages decided to stay over at Lucy's house. As usual, Lucy tries to object at the idea, but seeing she's in Gray's body she couldn't explain herself well. _Poor girl…_

So Gray said that he didn't want anyone staying at his (or rather her) house. After so many heated debates and arguments from Natsu, Erza became silent and said that _Lucy _has a point.

When the others left them alone…

Gray watched Lucy sigh as her knees gave in and slumped to the floor. He kinda felt bad that she couldn't stand up for herself. But what can he do? He is a victim himself. He gave her pat on the shoulder. When she looked up, he asked her "Do you have any drinks at your house?"

…

They spent the whole night sitting by her dining table with various bottles of liquor that flooded the floor and the table. Both mages were laughing hysterically as if trying to forget the event that happened between them.

"…you should have seen Erza's face when I threw the cake on her during her 12th birthday!" Gray laughed as he poured some beer into the girl's shot glass.

Lucy laughed her heart out. "I would love to see that haha how about telling you that Levy liked Gajeel? Who knew she'd like him!"

"Really? That's cool stuff Luce!" Gray said as he drank another shot. "The last time I drank like this was with Cana, we would consume lots… but that girl never gets drunk!"

"Tell me a secret Gray," Lucy said grinning, her face, flushed with intoxication. "I would love to hear a confession from you,"

"Are you trying to take advantage of me in my drunken state?" Gray asked her.

Lucy just giggled. "Ok, I'll go first… I hate it when people don't give attention to me."

"That isn't a secret at all…" Gray said. "A secret is like this: There is a girl that I like in the guild… or something like that,"

Lucy's eyes grew wide "Oh…? You like someone in the guild? Who?"

Gray felt a blush creep in his face "That was only an example Luce… I see that alcohol is making you pretty dumb,"

"Excuse me… GRAY FULLBUSTER," Lucy said "Back at home, we have a big… I mean a BIG library full of books, and I'm proud to say that I've read them all…"

"That doesn't change the fact you can't give a secret… dumb…" Gray said slyly… his insides felt hot due to alcohol, his brain knows what he is saying, what he is thinking… he thinks he is normal when in reality, he gets to say things he never thought he'd say… Alcohol pretty ruins much… well, how about tonight? Maybe they should loosen up a bit.

"Want me to give you a secret?" Lucy teased. He nodded though he noticed, she was getting very tipsy and that she couldn't handle that much alcohol in her system "Hmm… G-Gray… I find you… I find you… quite… a-at-at-tra—" and then she suddenly passed out.

Gray caught her.

_Let's call it a day…_

He helped her to her room, and gently put her down to bed. Exhausted and intoxicated, he slumped down beside her. He wasn't as drunk as her, so he took the liberty of looking at her. Oddly enough, he never saw his face when he looked at her, but he saw Lucy's face. While staring her at her sleep, Lucy began to hug him tight.

"Never leave me…" she whispered.

"ok…" Gray whispered as he hugged her back and slept beside her.

He somehow hoped that tomorrow, they might find a way to break the mysterious magic that enveloped them two. But for now… _Good Night._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So I guess… The Isla de Verona arc isn't finished yet… there is still something that needs to be solved! haha I thought to give this arc 3 chapters, but it seems that I had fun writing about them. You wouldn't mind if I extended this right? *sweatdrop***

**So yes guys, this is the stupid twist that I thought for their mission. What do you think? I know it's a bit cliché but I really do like the idea of them switching bodies. (I hope you didn't get confused on who is who) Any ideas on how they are going to break the spell? Haha quite obvious I guess ^^**

**I like them bickering and then get along together at the end of the chapter. I don't know if this chapter is sweet, but I think I like the ending… and maybe I'll write lots of endings like this… hahaha :D**

**Sorry for the kinda late update, wasn't feeling well during these past few days… **

**Anyways, please review! Tell me what you think… positive or negative reviews are welcome… Hope you enjoyed! :D**


	7. Isla de Verona Part 4

**Secretly GrayLu by MangaJuiceXD**

**Summary: I'm sure Gray and Lucy have a platonic relationship, but would you want to know some behind the scenes of these two? I'm sure no one in Fairy Tail knows about the two's feelings…**

* * *

><p><strong>Wait!<strong>

**Before we proceed to next chapter….**

**Here's a GrayLu Omake from Isla de Verona Part 3:**

The next morning:

Natsu: GRAY!

Lucy: (inside Gray's body) What? So early in the morning, do you have to scream like that?

Natsu: Gray! What did you do to Lucy?

Lucy: (puzzled) Wha-What? What are you saying? (Looks at the sleeping Gray beside her) AAAAAAHHHHH! NAKED! (Throws in a blanket to cover Gray and quickly got up the bed)

Gray: (Still inside Lucy's body, is very sleepy and gives Natsu an annoyed look) what's all this noise Natsu? Can't you see I'm sleeping here? (Drops back to bed)

Natsu: (Starts chasing Lucy) Gray! What did you do to Lucy?

Lucy: Nothing! (Starts running away) Believe me… I'm so fully clothed, see? (Deep inside: _Damn you Gray_!)

* * *

><p><strong>7: Isla de Verona: PART 4<strong>

**Lucy:**

_A week has passed and still nothing. Gray and I stayed on each other's bodies, though, we are not giving up hope yet. I have visited every library in Magnolia, researched on every book about body swapping magic… I have found one, yet, it requires an "undo" spell from the mage who casted it. Since we do not know who casted it, it is useless. One book I've read, even said that we should need the hair of the mage who cursed us… as if…_

_Usually, I'll sigh defeated by the counter. The librarian would usually look at me with so much love in her eyes… Well, I couldn't help it… I just made Gray look like an intellectual, well-dressed bastard…_

_Although… these past few days, were just like a living hell…_

_For starters the scene goes like this:_

After Natsu barged into Lucy's apartment, Gray (who pretended to be Lucy) pleaded with Natsu (he hated pleading) to leave the apartment and go to the guild. If only Lucy didn't restrain him, he would have sent Natsu flying out if he just wouldn't stop _annoying_ them. Of course, Lucy had foreseen that Gray would attempt to do any ice magic techniques if he gets pissed early in the morning. So, standing behind Gray she grabbed his right arm and restrained it on his back like an officer capturing a criminal.

"You can leave now," Gray said when he finally calmed down. "I'm just going beat Gray up for getting me naked,"

Natsu jaw dropped.

Lucy smiled. "She's joking! Of course I never did anything to her…" then she gave an unsure giggle.

"Huh?" Natsu said

"Yes, I won't promise… "Then she winked. Gray looked at her with his eyes wide open. When a confused Natsu left the room, Gray began scolding her that her _cutesy-seductive_ charm won't work… well, at least not while on his body.

As Gray decided to step into the shower, it made Lucy scream in alarm that he should STOP.

"Why?" he asked.

"Please!" Lucy said "That's my body; you have no right to give it a bath!"

"What the—are you out of your mind?"

Lucy then opened her drawer and fished out something. Later, she held a white bandana with blue floral designs on it. "Here," she handed it to him "Just cover your eyes, and I'll take care of everything,"

"That's sick," Gray reacted casually as he rubbed his nape "If you put it that way, then… I would bathe you too since you are in my body…"

Lucy's eyes grew wide. _My words… why are they coming back?_

She watched him as his eyes scanned the room. In the hamper, he got an item. "Here," he said as he tossed her a handkerchief. Lucy looked at him, he grinned. "If you want, we could bathe together blindfolded…"

"NO WAY!"

In the end… the two decided to take a sponge bath*

*sponge bath meaning: to soak face towels on a basin full of warm water and bathe the other person with clothes on. In short: the bath used on sick people.

"Sometimes, I wonder how you girls wear this stuff…" Gray said when Lucy taught him how to wear her bra.

She just rolled her eyes in response. Gray had been giving weird comments about her body lately, like she still had a lot of hidden baby fat. Sometimes, when Gray would comment, she'll just hit him with a book in the head so that he'd just keep quiet.

…

When they entered the guild, the two would always keep each other within their line of vision. They made sure that no one acts irresponsibly or does anything ridiculous. During one of those days of their "switched" lives, Juvia Lockser, a beautiful water-element user mage approached her one day. She knew that Juvia is hopelessly infatuated with Gray, so it's no wonder if Juvia happened to sit beside her that day.

"Gray-sama," Juvia would say as she sighed dreamily "Juvia really admires you so much,"

Lucy gave the girl a smile, unsure of how to react. "Y-you really think so?"

"Juvia thinks that she and Gray-sama must go on a mission together…" the girl with blue hair said as she scooted nearer Lucy. Lucy froze as Juvia leaned her head on her shoulder. It feels weird if a girl would flirt with her. She wondered how Gray should have felt everytime somebody flirts with him. Is he pleased? Or he'll just find it annoying?

"Huh? What was that?" Juvia suddenly said.

"What?" Lucy asked.

"There," Juvia said pointing at _Lucy _over there by the counter. "Isn't that Lucy-san? But, how come she just became too revealing this time?"

Lucy's eyes became wide when she saw Gray talking with Cana and Mirajane by the counter and he is… NAKED AGAIN?

_That guy… !_

"Will you excuse me Juvia?" Lucy said to her "I think I just forgot something from Lucy. You wouldn't mind will you?"

She clearly saw disappointment in the water-element mage but when she gave her a smile, the girl instantly brightened up. "As you wish Gray-sama," she would say. Lucy gave an inward sigh of relief.

She then went over Gray and pulled him away to the stock room.

…

"What the heck are you doing?" Lucy told the guy once they were alone.

"What?" Gray said, until he realized "Oh shoot, I forgot my clothes…"

"You're so… aaaaarrrghhhh!" Lucy exclaimed, as if she wanted to hurt him but refuses to since she would be leaving unwanted marks on her body. Luckily, she found a polo shirt that randomly lie around, and tossed it for Gray to wear. "You're still a pervert…" she pouted as she hugged her knees when she sat on the floor, defeated.

Gray joined her and sat opposite her. He just stared at her for a period of time. The intensity of his gaze was enough to make Lucy look at him. "What…?"

"Why a long face?" he asked her.

"Is there any particular reason aside from this?" she answered. "You know it, I know it, and don't you feel tired of this masquerade? It's been days, but still nothing. We aren't even close to the real answer… and you ask me why a long face? You really are something…"

"Indeed it's tiring," Gray answered his face serious with thought. "I'm forbidden to do the things I like, I'm forbidden to do my habits, I can't practice my magic out in the open like I used to, the heck, I can't even touch my own body! All these I can't do because there is someone I have to think of before I do certain activities…"

Lucy smirked "Your statement seems to be contradicting your actions…"

"Well, except the part where I strip, my unconscious does it… it's not in my will anymore," When he said this he grinned. "The switch between the two of us taught me a lot of things… particularly things about you."

"Me…?"

"Yup," he said casually "Want to know?"

Lucy made a face. Curious, she wanted to know. What is there interesting? She doesn't find herself interesting enough… what is there to hide? Is she supposed to hide something? Finally she asked "What?"

Gray's eyes looked up as if trying to recall some facts "Like, how you look like everyday… I always wondered how you'd look like up close, ever since when did you look so pretty? Did you always look like this? Or your mom must look very pretty?"

Lucy gulped. She was fighting very hard to blush hard. It seemed like for the first time, somebody had said that she was very beautiful… and the best part is: he isn't lying! She nodded at his question to avoid the adjective being addressed t her "My mom is very beautiful…"

"I thought so," Gray said and leaned on the wall. Lucy gave a sigh "By the way Luce… I found this on your dresser… I figured that it is a letter addressed to somebody…"

Before Gray could finish, Lucy's head suddenly went into an alarm. _Oh no! That's my letter for…HIM! _She suddenly tried to snatch it away, but Gray had quick reflexes and she wasn't able to get it from him. To further tease her, he put the letter on his _cleavage. _The two began to chase each other around the room knocking several items in the process. It was by pinning Gray to the floor which made Lucy get the letter from him. She instantly put the piece of scented paper deep within the pockets of her clothes.

For a few seconds, they stared at each other in a very awkward position only to be interrupted when Levy accidentally walked inside the room. Just imagine the shock in her eyes when she saw the two in a very unpredictable position.

"Levy-chan!" Lucy said "It isn't what you think…"

"I'm sorry! I thought, there were just some noises in the stockroom so I had to check it out…" Levy said "I didn't know you two had a private moment…"

As quickly as she appeared, she quickly disappeared.

"Clearly, she misunderstood everything," Gray said.

"It's your entire… stupid fault!" Lucy said.

**Gray:**

_I never imagined things would turn out this way… At first, I thought the switch between me and Lucy seemed like a brilliant idea. Imagine I could just stare at girls without them hating me. Just the other day, some female mages in fairy tail would always hug me whenever they are happy… why are girls like that? If guys would do that to each other, it would seem so gay…_

_For a few days, Erza hadn't scold me… in fact, she was so sweet to me and I'll just pretend that I'm awed by her… but Lucy says I'm doing a horrible job of impersonating her. As if she could impersonate me well… she does a horrible job by being the "gay" version of me. _

_As for Natsu… well, I just discovered he would ask Lucy lots of annoying questions, and would often times drag me to go on a mission with him. It sometimes made me think if this guy in particular liked her. One day, I asked him without Lucy's knowledge. I asked Natsu "Do you perhaps… like me?"_

_Then the pink haired boy beamed and answered "Of course I like you Lucy!"_

_Hmmm… "like" with much enthusiasm, could it be a joke? "What do you mean by 'like' Natsu?"_

_He looked at me and then answered "You're becoming weird again Luce…" and then he spotted some guild members and ran off. Sometimes I think if this is how girls feel… I mean, they can't do anything if the boy that they like didn't like them, and I personally think it'd be weird if the girl was the one who'd woo the guy…_

If you think Levy's accidental discovery of two mages in the stock room (one half naked under the other) wouldn't cause an uproar within the guild, sad to say, it did. An angry Natsu suddenly burst in and started to threaten and beat up _Gray._ It was a good thing Lucy was quick at running away and dogging his advances.

"Why wouldn't you fight me like a man?" Natsu would roar comically (though he is serious) around "It's been days since we haven't had a match Gray!"

Gray sighed. _Poor Lucy _he'd say, _such an innocent girl getting caught up with my trouble… hmmm… is there anything I can do to help in this situation? _Gray leaned by the cabinets as he watched Natsu chase Lucy all around the guild.

"Gray! Fight with me, one on one! You'll be forgiven if you win this duel!" Natsu challenged _Gray _whose statement made Lucy shout 'NO' and Gray spark up and say 'BRING IT ON, FIREBOY!'

Unable to contain his excitement any further, Gray stepped in between Natsu and Lucy. His eyes were glaring at the pink haired boy who didn't seem to give any additional interest in him. Later, Natsu said "going to fight with me too Lucy?"

"Yeah" Gray said with a devilish smirk etched in his face. (Imagine a wild Lucy challenging Natsu)

"Don't expect me to go easy on you Luce"

"Whatever…"

"It would be a two on one… Gray fights with Lucy…"

"Wha-!" Lucy exclaimed in the farthest corner.

As the mages eyed each other with mutual feelings of a heated battle coming up, (Well, only Gray and Natsu… Lucy, well she retreated to the farthest corner) Erza, the Titania suddenly stormed into the scene and grabbed Natsu, Gray and Lucy by the collars and dragged them outside the guild.

…

The four mages settled inside Lucy's living room; the only place wherein they could talk privately amongst themselves. Erza sat at the biggest couch, her legs crossed and a teacup held by her hands. The three remaining mages sat by the floor looking at her as if she was their god.

"I've learned something about Isla de Verona," she started as she took a sip from her teacup. Gray couldn't help but gulp. He gave Lucy a slight nudge which she responded the same way.

"A request came to the guild earlier this morning. It was given by Cedric. Apparently, the mission we had in Isla de Verona isn't complete." Erza said.

"Why?" Natsu said "Is there still some monsters that we didn't finish?"

"No, we defeated all of them." Erza said "It so happened that the curse still remains."

"What kind of curse?" Gray said as he noticed Lucy sitting in deep thought beside him. "Any idea…?"

"Hmmm… come to think of it," Lucy said "The whole island was dry the time we arrived, isn't Isla de Verona an island which uses water as its life source? If so… if the water didn't return…"

"Yes, the water did not return." Erza said. "That is the mystery. Why did it not return? Does anyone of you know?"

Gray tried to remember the things that might have led to such incident… maybe… maybe this could also be an answer to the problem he and Lucy were trying to solve the whole time. The switch… the water… Scenes of the past mission flooded his brain; things seemed to get clearer… The grave! Romeo and Juliet! Something was written… perhaps it might…

_EUREKA! I got it! _

As he was about to turn to Lucy who sat beside him and tell her about his thoughts, he saw her trembling, her hands balled into fists as if she was debating something inside her mind. Later she spoke in a serious tone "Erza… there is something you need to know, something that might lead us to solve this mystery… Gray and I must confess something…"

Lucy said the words…

Erza's eyes grew wide and Natsu's jaws reached the floor.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry guys for the late update… a lot of things happened to me lately that I seem to have pushed this project aside. **

**Here are my excuses for such a late update: (you could skip reading this)**

**Passed national licensure exam, so I had a feast and then had to fix lots of things… documents and the likes…**

**Job hunting…. T.T**

**Trainings…**

**Reading books… LOL (^^)**

**Hope I could be forgiven… and like I said, this arc is extended. Hoping I could give this a decent ending. I wanted to hear from you if you are well entertained by the story so far. Thanks for reading! Hoping for reviews… it's been a while since I've received one… **


	8. Isla de Verona Part 5

**Secretly GrayLu by MangaJuiceXD**

**Summary: I'm sure Gray and Lucy have a platonic relationship, but would you want to know some behind the scenes of these two? I'm sure no one in Fairy Tail knows about the two's feelings…**

* * *

><p><strong>8: Isla de Verona: PART 5<strong>

**Gray:**

_I watched her from the corner of my eyes… Don't tell me she'll…_

She told the words. The words of revelation, I guess there is no point hiding it for too long.

Erza's eyes grew wide as she said "It can't be…!"

Natsu's jaws dropped to the floor "NO WAY!"

_Yes way… _Gray thought.

"Erza…" Lucy said as if she was going to break. "It's true… Gray and I switched… ever since the island incident," she then grabbed Erza's hand and looked at her with full emotion. If movie effects worked in real life, he (Gray) swore that he saw glitters and roses sprouting around Erza and his body (a.k.a Lucy). From the corner of the room, Natsu and Gray looked at the two with eyebrows raised. Maybe, even for a short while, the two rivals (though friendly rivals) in Fairy Tail must have agreed to one thing: _Gray x Erza…? No way!_

Gray cringed inside as Lucy seemed to temporarily forget that she was still inside his body. She began to get teary eyed, better yet, felt hopeless after being stuck with him for days. Probably she missed being her. How could he blame her? He missed his body too, but for crying out loud…

"Gray! Don't lay your dirty hands on Erza!" Natsu began, seemingly doubting every word Lucy revealed to them for the past few minutes. "Don't think you can fool me Gray…"

"Natsu," Lucy said "Do you think I'm gonna lie about this?" there was annoyance in her voice.

"Hmmm… she or he seems to be saying the truth…" The Titania said in deep thought which made Gray feel like a heavy block of ice just fell from his head… _she or him… what the—_

"We really switched places." Gray suddenly said to clear the confusion.

Natsu gave a deadpan look that says "prove-it-to-my-face-Gray-or-whoever-you-are"

Gray sighed and began to sculpt an intricate ice sculpture of Fairy Tail's insignia on his hand, and to which he gave his company a look that read: "duh".

Natsu stared at him for a long time, as if studying him… inching towards him saying "Is that really you, Gray?"

"Yeah."

"Waaah! Gray!" Natsu suddenly hugged him "I missed you! We could now continue our duel!"

"What is with the hug Natsu?" Lucy said. "Don't tell me…"

"Luce, I get it… I'm in your body…" Gray said. "Apparently, it isn't me he is really hugging…"

"What a perv…" Erza sighed with a smile.

…

"Now that things are revealed… let's go to the details…" Erza said resuming the meeting they had after Happy came along with the energetic Cedric. Earlier, Erza asked Happy to fly over the island to see the real problem, when Happy went back; he was already together with the boy.

"Aye," Happy said "that's what happened. Life in the island hasn't returned normal yet…"

"If this goes on…" Cedric said "Maybe the island wouldn't be revived… I'm afraid that the people would stop believing in the magic of the place…"

Gray and the others looked at the boy who was full of determination to bring the island back to life.

"Isla de Verona is such a wonderful place. It is the place where I was born, the place where I stayed with my family, the place where I met my friends… please, you got to help me… you've got to help us… restore the magic that the island once posses…"

_Restore the magic that was once lost._

_What kind of magic?_

"Lucy," I said "You used to read some information about the island right?"

"Yes I do…" Lucy answered "In fact, I would really want to spend my honeymoon there… if I'll ever have one that is…"

"So, what about it?"

"Isla de Verona is about the water. The island isn't the same like any other island here in Magnolia or in Fiore. its water is its magic."

"So that explains the waterways, waterworks, water themed parks, more rivers than streets…" Erza added.

"Aye," Happy said. "It's all dried up. Seeing the island now from above is a horrible nightmare."

"But, wait… the last place Gray and I stumbled upon was a graveyard…" Lucy said.

"Yeah, something related to Romeo and Juliet…" Gray said.

"Romeo and Juliet?" Erza said as she tucked strands of wild red hair behind her ear. "Isn't that just a story by some playwright?"

"The story written by some playwright was adapted from these two who died at the island. Somehow, somewhere in the history of the island, the story of these star crossed lovers is written!" Lucy exclaimed with delight.

"My guess…" Gray said "the epitaph?"

"Yes! That's it… and the voice!" Lucy said.

"Voice?"

"Wait!" Natsu said, getting confused. "What exactly happened?"

"Well, you see…" Gray explained "after I defeated the dragon (who turned to be a mage), Lucy and I tried to find for Cedric who has gone missing, when suddenly we came to this mysterious place creepy like a graveyard but its beauty is intoxicating… We found this grave of the legendary lovers… sleep enveloped us… and then there was this voice which said…"

"Escalus is defeated…" Lucy said trying hard to remember "But… Isla de Verona is made of love, love has obstacles, but don't worry … because love itself is wonderful… then… like the days of _yore_, everything begins with a kiss…"

Realizing what she just said, Gray looked at Lucy. What was that all about? _Made of Love? Love has obstacles? Begins with a kiss?_

"I'm not sure where the talk is leading..." Gray said. "But first, we must go to Isla de Verona"

…

**Lucy:**

_Right after gray talked, Natsu began charging outside yelling us to stop wasting time and go to the island right away. I sighed at his impulsiveness, but there is no helping it. I need to get back to my body right now!_

_Luckily enough, the trip going back to the island is not that hard like the last time. This time, villagers from the island were kind enough to help us. The ferry ride was pleasant, though Natsu, like always, had the trouble of polluting the ocean with vomitus._

_On the deck of the ferry, I spotted Gray. He had his arms rested at the railing with one hand supporting his head as if he looked dreamingly ahead. I decided not to approach him but unconsciously, instead, stare at him as he gave a grin. I started to wonder: what was he thinking? If things go according to plan, maybe this terrible curse would be solved and then, I'll go back to my original life… If you'll ask me if I'll miss being in Gray's body… well… I think the answer will be, "kinda… sort off… not completely…"_

_But if there is anything I'd hope… I hope that after returning to our original selves, nothing would change. Even if everything seemed like a nightmare for most people, knowing more about each other throughout the whole week was like a dream… _

_A surreal dream…_

By the time the ferry reached the dock, the group was lead to the elders of the town. Lucy noted the people trying to re-build their homes, but there are still struggles around her. Fresh water is scarce. The only water they could find is the ocean, and salt water isn't always good. If this goes on, just like what Cedric said, then this beautiful paradise would just wither. The thought just made her sad.

"So, isn't these mages the ones that helped in the defeat of Escalus?" a short stocky pudgy man with pink mustache and hair looked at them. He wore breeches, black leather shoes, a white long sleeved cotton shirt topped by a black pin stripped vest and a red puffy bowtie on his neck. He also wore a tight black belt with gold buckle, and a red cape. On his head was wide brim straw hat with multicolored feathers… it was so painful to look at him. That is why when they first came to him face to face:

"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Natsu and Gray began to laugh so hard that Erza smacked them in the head, until they fell on their knees with stars encircling their visions. Lucy gave a big sigh. Gray isn't doing a good job protecting her body, and just today, without even thinking, Erza just hit him.

"Pardon, our rudeness," Erza began.

"You better be," The short man said. "Your names?"

"I'm Erza Scarlet, with me are my friends who helped in the defeat of Escalus and his assistant: Natsu Dragneel, Lucy Heartfelia, and Gray Fullbuster,"

Happy raised his hand.

"…and also Happy," Erza said.

The man raised his eyebrows for a while, probably a bit shocked to see a flying cat that could understand humans. He wondered if this particular specie of cat could speak. The shock came when Happy the cat who was supposed to say "meow" spoke to Erza by saying "Thank you Erza," however he tried to hide his surprise and began to focus on important things: like how to restore water to the island.

He cleared his throat as he sat comfortably on his "throne-like" chair atop a platform. Judging on how he looks like and how the people respected him, Lucy assumed that he was like the chief/leader of the whole island. "I am Principe Ravenal the eleventh, King of this island, you must know that this place is unique in all of Fiore, we are not under the kingdom's government, and we strived to be an individual place: a place of beauty and magic. A land of the free, but, as peaceful people with loyalty and alliance to Fiore, we still abide to the kingdom's rules. I want answers to this riddle," he began. "Is there anything you'd wish to report to me?"

Lucy looked at Erza uncomfortably, but the Titania just gave her a confident smile. "We do not know for sure how to solve the mystery, however, we have a problem too ourselves, and I think it has a great connection with the water crisis your island is experiencing now. So, if could we have a private audience with you…"

The Principe raised his eyebrow which almost reached his hairline and then instructed the guards and other people to move out of the room. "Go on."

Erza looked at Lucy, who, with a deep breath stepped forward and mentioned about the mysterious curse that happened to her and Gray. She would notice how he would occasionally rub his chin as if he had a very long goatee, and when she finished, he said "Isn't your story very romantic?"

…

After her audience with the Principe, Lucy walked around the royal gardens pondering on what he said.

"_How could that story be so romantic?" Lucy shouted in protest_

"_My dear, the land of this island lives on its waters, yes, and magic too. You must know, that in this place, love is such a powerful magic. I came up with this conclusion after your story: true love must be shed in the moonlight. Tonight! Everything depends on you and that boy. May the spirits of the founders of this place: Romeo and Juliet bless you."_

Tonight…?

"_Lucy," Erza told her afterwards… "Don't worry, everything will be fine… I'll just keep watch over Natsu," then she winked._

The memory just made Lucy blush into deep crimson.

…

"Gray…" Lucy said as she crept into his room that evening. She still hasn't told her plan which made her heart thump into wild beats. How could she tell him of her stupid idea? "Gray…"

However, the ice mage just stirred into the sheets, when Lucy decided to remove his blanket so that the cold air could wake him, she noticed he wasn't wearing anything! "GRAY!" she exclaimed which made the boy wake up in a jolt, but he screamed when he saw Lucy wearing a traditional hooded cape which made her look like an evil spirit.

"Please don't kill me!" he said.

"Gray, it's only me Lucy!" she said as she removed the hood.

"Oh," he said with a deadpanned expression "thanks for waking me and then scaring me…" then he slumped back to his bed to resume his interrupted sleep.

"Gray!" Lucy said as she tried to pull his (or her) arm just to create some space between Gray and the bed. After a few struggles of getting him up and letting him wear some decent clothing, the two mages decided to go towards the star crossed lovers' grave that night.

Little do they know that the Principe could see them with his magic and that Erza together with Natsu watched their two friends disappear into the dense forest. If it was not for Erza's hard grip on his shoulder, Natsu would have attacked and chase them.

…

When they reach the place, various fireflies flew around the garden creating a warm glow.

"Why do we have to go here?" Gray asked. He was dressed in a really lacey long nightgown which was old fashioned but warm enough. He also wore a hooded blue cape to combat the cold night air.

"We-we have to break the curse." Lucy said, unsure of how to tell him.

"I thought we'll do it in the morning?" he asked, trying to clarify things up.

"We are not going to do it in the morning," Lucy said as she walked towards the grave with withered roses whose vines started to break under her touch. "Romeo and Juliet… they died at night, in order to break the curse, we must do it in a time when their souls had finally met in the other world."

"Don't tell me we are going to kill ourselves," Gray said.

"No, silly…" Lucy slightly giggled. "I don't know how to say this, but, we must…"

She inched closer to him, which made Gray feel something unsettling in his heart, "...we must, continue their love…"

"What?" Gray said which made Lucy blush so red. She was glad that the lights were so dim that color is a hard thing to notice.

"_Like the days of yore, everything doth begin with a kiss."_

"A kiss Gray!" Lucy suddenly spouted everything out "that is my theory! End this curse with a kiss!"

Gray raised his eyebrows as he looked at Lucy… she_ must be losing it…_

"Oh my! I am not ready for a kiss!" The blonde hair girl said "I was reserving my first kiss for my wedding day or maybe my first boyfriend! It's not supposed to be wasted in this crappy mission of saving the island… what about me and my needs, my fantasies!"

Lucy suddenly walked back and forth around the garden while Gray was just there staring at her with odd interest. This idea was the one that troubled her from the very beginning, this is the idea which made her so weak inside, this is a gamble, what if this doesn't work, and will everything be wasted? No!

"Luce, calm down." Gray said as he held her shoulder. "I think it wouldn't be so bad."

Lucy took a deep, big breath.

"So…" Gray said "When will I kiss you? Now?"

"Don't be such an idiot," Lucy said "There are... _rituals_…"

"Oh…"

"What about… we start like this?" Lucy held his hands and walked over the grave of the doomed lovers. "We do not have to rush,"

"…"

Lucy closed her eyes. She tried to feel everything around her: the cold night air, the bright full moon which shone above them, the soft buzzing of the fireflies' wings, the faint glow that would seep in between her closed eyelids, the sway of the long grass with the gentle breeze, his hands on hers… She opened her eyes and looked at Gray's. Those eyes, when she looked at, were her own, however, they weren't hazel, they were…

"Gray… my eyes turned gray?" she stammered.

"What are you saying?" Gray asked, but then realized what she was pointing out, even in Lucy's body; his eyes remained Blue-gray. "Luce, when we changed souls, the only thing that stayed with us was the color of our eyes, since the eyes are the windows of our souls, didn't you notice that your eyes remained hazel? That is why even in our changed state, we could see our souls and ourselves... and not the present body we now have…"

"I-it never occurred to me…" Lucy said "Let us begin, we must read … uh… the epitaph…"

"Right," Gray nodded "the history: _Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny_,…"

"…_Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life_;…" Lucy said, reciting such lines, made her grip Gray's hands tighter.

Gray could feel how cold her hands were, "…_Whole misadventured piteous overthrows Do with their death bury their parents' strife. The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love_…"

Lucy's mouth quivered, "…_And the continuance of their parents' rage, Which, but their children's end, nought could remove, Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage_;…"

Then together, they read the last two lines_: The which if you with patient ears attend, What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend._

After reading the lines out aloud, the fireflies began to buzz restlessly, like some unknown force enveloping the two of them. The feeling was warm and fuzzy; the sonnet that they had just recited seemed like some kind of magic spell. Out of nowhere, a voice, a woman's voice, went echoing in the wind. It recited her curse. Lucy and Gray just stared at each other, concentrating on what to do next, and then later, the two found themselves listening to the curse:

_Isla de Verona hath been made from love,_

_And from love doth only sprung thy eternal spring,_

_Love hath obstacles,_

_But doth worry naught,_

_For love itself is wonderful,_

_Love itself is just,_

_Like the days of yore, everything doth begin with a kiss."_

The wind around them turned wild, like they have activated something unwanted. For a moment, Lucy felt afraid, but she just felt him firmly grip her hands. "Gray…?" she said unsure of what to say.

"Kiss me now," he said.

"What?" Lucy asked but she knew what he was saying.

"Kiss me now." He said again.

The wind blew harder around them, shaking, Lucy closed her eyes and leaned over to him and gave him a quick kiss in the lips. When she opened her eyes, nothing has changed. "Did it work?" she asked.

Judging by their surroundings, things seemed to get worse, like Mother Nature is going against them.

"Maybe you did not kiss me right," Gray said.

Lucy was taken aback, "then! What should we do?"

It was that moment when Gray suddenly pulled her head to meet his lips. He put so much force on the kiss that Lucy swore it made her knees weak. The kiss itself made her feel calm; the doubts in her mind slowly began to fade as she surrendered to his kiss. New emotions began to stir within her, she could feel the wind turn into a gentle breeze, which smelled sweeter and damp. She could feel her hands reaching for his back. She felt intoxicated, like she zapped out and then traveled another dimension. The only thing that broke their deep kiss was when they heard fireworks bursting into the sky…

_Oh my…_

The moment Lucy opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Gray's face. _Had she returned to her body? _She looked at him, studied him and touched his face, _his red face…_ but she thought her face was more crimson in color after that intense moment, everything felt so… _Magical_.

"I'm back?" she asked, then she looked around and saw different lights, the flowers all going into full bloom, fountains roaring back to life, the wind damp with: WATER! She also saw fireworks blazing with different patterns across the dark sky. She ran towards a nearby fountain and saw her reflection on the pool: She is back! She is definitely back!

"I'm back!" she screamed as she jumped around. In the corner of her eye, she could see Gray smiling with delight, screaming that he IS back. When Lucy saw him, she wanted to hug him (or probably kiss him again), but fought the urge to do so. After a moment, she just went up to him and said "Thank you…"

…

The next day…

"Thank you for bringing water back to Fiore," the Principe said "You may have your reward in double or triple."

Lucy's eyes suddenly turned into money signs when she received 2, 000, 000 Jewels. "This is more than double or triple!" she said in delight.

"Now, that Isla de Verona is already restored, last night was a miracle… by midnight, the water fountains just roared back to life and the water in the rivers suddenly filled themselves up. Nothing is dry here anymore; even the plants had been brought back to life. To my delight, I asked the whole town to light some fireworks in celebration… it was nice to see them happy, and… I thank you and your friends for saving this island,"

…

Since they rushed their way going back to the island, they weren't able to pack anything. However, the inhabitants of the place gave them various gifts as their token of appreciation.

Lucy walked with Erza outside, enjoying every bit of the beautiful scenery which unfolded before them.

"You were right," Erza said "This is a nice place…"

"I told you," Lucy winked "a beautiful honeymoon spot, everything here is just perfect." She sighed dreamingly probably remembering what happened last night, but she caught her guard when she saw Erza staring at her. She suddenly felt conscious so she asked "By the way, where is Natsu and Gray?"

"Oh you know, having … fun?" Erza answered "It's been a long time since they haven't dueled for so long…" Erza looked at Lucy. She tucked a strand of red hair behind her ear and inched closer to the blonde girl. "So…" she began in playful tone "What happened last night?"

Lucy could feel the rush of blood enter her head. Whatever the explanation she could think of, the blush across her face would always betray her. She sat silent for awhile, contemplating on whether to answer or not, when suddenly, a fire roaring Natsu chased Gray around and passed in front of her and Erza. "I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU KISSING LUCY YOU STUPID ICE BOY! WHEN I'LL CATCH YOU, I TURN YOU INTO SOME WELL FRIED MEAT!"

"IN YOUR DREAMS DRAGON BRAIN! YOU'LL HAVE TO EAT MY ICE FIRST!" Gray said in reply.

Lucy's mind turned blank. Did Natsu mention "the kiss?" She looked at Erza with big eyes demanding an explanation with what Natsu said.

"Oops! Sorry, I can't help myself," the Titiana said as she sweatdropped. "I should go now and find Happy and Cedric"

Lucy could feel herself burn "ERZA!"

…END OF ISLA DE VERONA ARC…

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Another chapter finished… this story arc is soooooooo long! Yeah! Hope you like their FIRST KISS! OMG! (I'm dying…) haha joke! :3 sorry it took so long, I was busy with a lot of things that I forget to update… :( At least , this chap is not a cliff hanger.**

**If you want updates, just remind me ok… **

**Now, Thanks for the reviews! I really do appreciate them and I read every single of them, and I seem to respond to "please update soon" I know I'm not updating soon, but I do update... haha.**

**So… how do you rate the whole Isla de Verona arc? Boring? exciting? So-so? Or just another "eh"? I don't know… D: I hope my next chapters would be one shots already… if you have any suggestions... be free to tell me. :3**


	9. The Omake Promo

**Secretly GrayLu by MangaJuiceXD**

**Summary: I'm sure Gray and Lucy have a platonic relationship, but would you want to know some behind the scenes of these two? I'm sure no one in Fairy Tail knows about the two's feelings…**

* * *

><p><strong>Do you think Isla de Verona arc is already finished?<strong>

**Well… it's not! Omake time!**

**Here we have Cedric and Happy!**

***applause everybody***

**Cedric: **Ladies and Gentlemen may I have your attention pleeeeaaaaase!

**Happy: **Aye! We have a special announcement! This photo:

*waves photo for crowd to see*

*crowd sees a picture of Gray and Lucy kissing*

This photo is to be auctioned!

**Cedric: **Yes! You heard it right Ladies and Gentlemen! This photo is limited edition, and yes, this picture is real and is not photoshopped, I repeat not photoshopped!

*audience gets excited*

**Happy: **Aye!I'm proud to say I took the photo myself, and I must admit, I pretty had a hard time taking this. The angle is perfect! So what are you waiting for? Start the auction now!

**Cedric: **So, let us spread the GrayLu love and ask our dear audience… How much are you willing to give for this priceless picture?


	10. Juvia's man Part 1

**Secretly GrayLu by MangaJuiceXD**

**Summary: I'm sure Gray and Lucy have a platonic relationship, but would you want to know some behind the scenes of these two? I'm sure no one in Fairy Tail knows about the two's feelings…**

* * *

><p><strong>Prologue:<strong>

**Juvia:**

Drip… Drip… Drip…

_Juvia… can't believe it…_

Drip…

Juvia looked the small piece of glossy paper in her hand. She could hear her breath go faster and faster…

_It can't be!_

Water is slowly running down her hands and towards the picture… she watched in a mix of twisted horror and delight, as the water washed away the colors of the picture… however, water alone is not enough to erase _its_ existence.

She created a half smile…

_There must be some mistake!_

Drip… Drip… Drip…

_He would never do this! _

_GRAY-SAMA!_

For a moment, Juvia saw a flash of lighting, followed by heavy thunder… Her heart! She couldn't take it anymore! Her hand which held the picture… Her beloved Gray! Gray! He… He… He…

_It just hurts so much! Wasn't Juvia enough?_

"Isn't that an interesting picture, miss?" An old man's voice behind her said.

Juvia spun around, and to her horror, she saw a bald man covered with circle-sh spots (do you think it's warts or it's just normal? People here in Fiore are just so weird!), thick green eyebrows, and yellow teeth. He had a smaller frame, and was wearing some kind of brown sack cloth, which might had come from a far away monastery, Juvia must have pitied him, because she tried to give him some change to buy food.

"I don't need any money miss," he said.

Juvia, just looked at him.

"It's hard to love somebody, especially if they never looked your way." He paused and looked at the picture in Juvia's hand "He shouldn't have kissed her."

_Kiss!_

Juvia's eyes grew wide. Somebody acknowledged her feelings for this ice mage.

"You could make him yours, you know…" The sly old man said.

Juvia felt her heart beat within her…

_Gray-sama, Juvia loves you very much… You should know that Juvia has no intentions of hurting you… Gray-sama, how could you betray Juvia like this? How can you kiss Lucy-san?_

Drip…

"I could hear tears dripping down your heart… you could have him…"

Drip…

_Have him? Juvia must have him!_

"I could help you have him…" The old man said to the confused girl.

Drip…

"I could make him yours…" The old man continued with a sinister smile, "Juvia of Fairy Tail."

* * *

><p><strong>9: Juvia's Man: PART 1<strong>

**Gray:**

It was another day in Fairy Tail. A few weeks might have passed after the ill-fated Isla de Verona mission. So far, team Natsu did a few minor missions, just enough to pay for their own rents that month. Like all days in the guild, everyone was noisy: Cana and the others drinking, The shadow gear are doing crazy stuff with others (well, except for Levy reading something serious in the corner), the Raijinshu are at one corner doing their thing, Mirajane and master Makarov talking as usual by the bar, Erza having some discussion with Pantherlily, Lucy giving some fish to Happy and Carla while Wendy giggles slightly over the two cats, and… a typical day would always consist of, Natsu and Gray fighting about something pretty small _again_.

All of the sudden, the guild's door flew open…

Everyone became silent, the activities stopped.

Juvia stood at the door way: there was a different aura around her, like she was emitting waves of unknown magic…

"GRAY-SAMA!" she said as she walked rapidly towards him. "You are Juvia's now!" and then she kissed him full in the lips. Gray's eyes suddenly grew wide in shock, while the guild gave mixed confused reactions.

…

"Juvia is under a spell." Master Makarov told the ice mage in private. With him were Mirajane, Erza, Natsu and Lucy. "Only a sneaky mage with evil intent on the guild would do that… and that is: Edward."

"Edward?" Gray and Natsu said in unison.

Makarov closed his eyes to pause then looked up to them "Edward Mooringan, he uses people's strong emotions in order to infiltrate the guild, hard to admit, but we were friends here in Fairy Tail. We had dreams of being the guild's master."

"Master?" Lucy exclaimed. "And… he was an ex-member?"

"That's right" Mirajane said with a smile.

"How does his magic work?" Erza asked.

"He uses emotions. First, he gets a victim, casts a spell on them, and then tells them to do whatever they want. The problem is: if the victim doesn't get anything he or she wants they rebel against the guild…"

"So, we can't resist Juvia's advances on Gray?" Lucy exclaimed with such emotion that Gray looked at her.

"Yes, we must play along, because if we resist Juvia she might start to rebel against the guild. If that happens, the magic would spread to other guild members. The magic works like a disease."

"No way would that happen!" Natsu exclaimed "I must catch that Edward guy and save Juvia!"

"Hold it Natsu," Erza said then looked at Makarov "I have a feeling that this Edward guy wouldn't show up easily if he knows he is going to get caught, so I suggest that we play along and let him think that we didn't know that Juvia is under a spell, when he shows up, that's the time we would catch him."

…

"Gray-sama, please accept my love!" Juvia said as she encircles her arms with his. Gray looks at her and said something stupid like "Don't you think we are going too fast?"

"Juvia has waited forever for this moment to arrive!"

Gray felt dizzy. Juvia's perfume lingered too long in his nose that he would rather create an ice wall between them. He started to wonder when did this happen? Juvia's greatest wish is to be with him? But why?

_Juvia likes me? _That fact is too much for Gray to handle.

He started to look around the guild: happy faces of people greeted him. _Were they playing along too?_

He had to calm his thoughts, he thought of _her_.

_Lucy, where are you?_

His eyes scanned the guild once more: he found her by the counter talking with Mirajane and Levy.

"Gray-sama, where are you looking?" Juvia said to get his attention again. "It's getting boring here in the guild, let's go out and have a date!"

"A-what?" Gray said in shock.

"WHAT?" He heard Lucy say across the room.

_Was she listening?_

"Lucy, is there anything wrong?" Levy asked her.

"Wrong?" Lucy said a bit nervously "Nothing is wrong… Gray can go out with anyone else… It's… It's just that… the weather outside seem inappropriate, I mean, it looks like it's gonna rain right?"

"It's cloudless sunny day outside Luce," Gray said.

"Really?" Lucy said "Then maybe going out isn't a good idea, since you burned easily."

"I don't!" Gray said "I can pretty much do anything I want under the sun"

"Prove it!" Lucy challenged him

"I will!" Gray said and held Juvia's hand. Juvia blushed deep red with love, while Lucy blushed deep red with anger.

"Hey," Mirajane intervened, "Calm down guys… Lucy, do you perhaps think that you're just… jealous?"

Lucy gave a laugh "Me? Jealous? Of course not! Gray and I…" she looked at him then back to Mirajane "Gray and I are just _friends_,"

_Gray and I are just friends_

_just friends_

_friends_

_FRIENDS!_

"Fine," Gray said and shot Lucy a look "Juvia, let's go outside, I think I need some fresh air,"

"Gray-sama," Juvia blushed deeper as she felt his hands tighten their grip around hers.

"There's just too much tension here," He looked at the water mage "Let's go,"

"Um… Gray," Mirajane said "Your clothes?"

Gray looked down.

_Sh*t!_

…

**Lucy:**

"That Man, what's with him?" Lucy muttered as she stared at her cold ice glass of water in the counter. She sighed, making Mirajane and Levy look at her.

"What?" she asked them wide eyed.

"Uhm… Lucy, we were just wondering, maybe you have some certain issues with Gray," Mirajane said with a kind tone.

_Issues?_

"What she means is," Levy said "Maybe you…"

"Maybe you like him," Mirajane finished. "Don't you think so Lucy?"

Lucy felt her heart leap when the words "Like" and "Gray" are said in one sentence. _Like Gray_

Why does she feel like this? Is this normal? Is it because he has been with her for a long time? Don't you think it is just possessiveness? These feelings that she is feeling right now, is she allowed to feel them? Maybe, this is just craziness… Feelings are vague and foreign to her. It's like walking on some uncharted territory, no map, no guide… sometimes, these feelings feel…

"Wrong," Lucy told them "maybe I'm just concerned with him because he is my teammate, and besides, he really burns easily, you know, like that time when we came home from Isla de Verona; he had multiple burn marks…"

"Well, that could be the reason, but I think he just gets his burn marks from Natsu," Mirajane said.

"Whatever," Lucy said "Gray is just a friend… and why the heck are we even talking about him? We must save Juvia, right?" she soon spotted Natsu randomly entering a fight with Gajeel. "Hey Natsu! We must follow Gray and Juvia now! We must save them!"

The salamander whined "But Lucy, Gajeel and I are…"

Lucy hit him square in the head and dragged him out of the guild.

…

"So, what does Gray-sama like doing?" Juvia asked her date as they strolled around the park. The day was sunny, but Gray didn't mind, for he wore his white trench coat. Juvia wore her usual blue dress, in her hands; she held her purple polka-dot patterned umbrella.

"I like ice, and snow," he answered, and then he created a beautiful ice figurine of a girl under an umbrella. "Hope you like it… it's you,"

Juvia took the delicate ice sculpture in her hands. The image was her, the details were accurate, and she could feel her eyes go wet with tears… _Juvia never thought she could be this happy!_ In her appreciation, she decided to give Gray a kiss on the cheek.

Unknown to the couple, standing a hundred meters away from them was Lucy and Natsu, hiding themselves by the bush.

"How dare she do that!" Lucy said, her fists shaking. The sight of the two mages being _lovey-dovey_ together was enough to make her feel so agitated.

"Doing what?" Natsu asked "But, I must admit, Gray is doing a good job dating her,"

"Can't you see they aren't doing anything?" Lucy said as she held the Salamander's scarf and then shook him violently. "At this rate, how can we save Juvia?"

"Is that really your concern Lucy?" the blue cat suddenly said.

"Happy?" Lucy said "How did you get here?"

"Happy is always with Natsu!" the cat answered.

In the bright sunny day, Lucy could feel heavy dark clouds of rain above her, it might look comical to others, but it doesn't feel comical at all. She suddenly sat in the ground, hugging her knees.

"Lucy, what's wrong?" Natsu asked her. He sat down and stared straight at her. Lucy felt her heart thump when she saw his face staring directly at her. For a moment, it seemed that Natsu was able to look within her soul. What was she thinking? Could that be genuine concern in his eyes? Does he know what she is going through? Then, there is Gray… Gray… for the past few weeks, they had been so close but so far at the same time… maybe, _maybe… he just sees me as a friend_.

"N-Natsu?" Lucy said as she returned his stare.

_Thank you for being there for me._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Oookayyyyy… another cliff hanger… this was meant to be a one-shot chapter, but, it got so long.**

**..And… I kinda hate reading long chapters in the internet, so I try to somewhat break them down into bits. Sorry about that.**

**I am sorry too if I haven't updated for so long, I recently had a new job and now, it takes me 2 hours going and 2 hours going back, so yeah, its very time consuming… not to mention being so tired that I wouldn't be able to lift a finger and type! **

**I'm so sorry! *bows to the ground so low until forgiven* Hope you like the concept of this story!**


	11. Juvia's man Part 2

**Secretly GrayLu by MangaJuiceXD**

**Summary: I'm sure Gray and Lucy have a platonic relationship, but would you want to know some behind the scenes of these two? I'm sure no one in Fairy Tail knows about the two's feelings…**

* * *

><p><strong>10: Juvia's Man: PART 2<strong>

**Gray:**

_I stare at the bright clear sky above me; birds swirled above without any care. I tried to feel the brick ground below my shoes, I keep my feet firmly planted. My left arm felt heavy, I remembered that our arms are entwined with each other. I looked at her: wearing her usual Russian blue outfit, her cat-like eyes stared back at me. I thought she looked cute; however, she is under a spell. What am I doing in this street with her? That's right! I am on a date with her._

_Juvia Lockser, former part of the Phantom guild together with Gajeel. _

_When I first met her, it was a duel. I had to save Lucy that time and I was dead serious trying to save that stellar spirit mage… then she blocks my path, though not in a bad way. To be fair, I think I was impressed with how she used her magic. You see, she uses water as her medium._

_I originally thought of her as a shy and weird girl… the heck, what am I thinking? Sometimes she is actually fun around to be with… however…_

_I don't see her the way she sees me. _

_Sooner or later, she has to know about this._

_For the mean time, let's solve the present. So far, the outside doesn't look like a bad place, I mean, there's no some kind of "dark aura" lurking within the vicinity, except for a couple of auras I could sense afar, and… it seemed like followed us all the way from the guild. Who can it be? A mage with any evil intent? I'll have to find out…_

Juvia looked at him. Gray's eyes widened a bit, he is not used with somebody staring at him for so long. It's creepy. But she said "Is there anything wrong, Gray-sama?"

He put his hands on her shoulders. "Just stay here, ok?"

…

Gray retraced his steps, and sure enough, he had a slight idea on who his pursuers are. He heard a slight shriek. The voice sounded familiar to him, that he traced it to the bush that randomly lay in the background. He saw them:

To his horror he saw Natsu's hand cupping Lucy's cheek. He perceived it to be an "intimate" gesture between "lovers".

_HOLY MOTHER OF-! _He could hear his inner mind screaming. _WHAT ARE THEY DOING?_

"What are you two doing?" Gray said in disgust. "You couldn't be doing such things in public! How dare you… Natsu! You are really so stupid!"

"Gray?" Lucy said in surprise. "How did you find us here?"

"Hey Ice boy! How dare you call me stupid, when I just killed the biggest bug that has ever landed on Lucy's face?" then to Gray's disgust, Natsu waved a big dead bug in front of his face. Gray froze the dead body then shattered it to a million pieces.

"Idiot*," He told the salamander.

*Idiot meaning: you are the most disgusting, inappropriate, stupid person that I know, I wish to kill you.

"BRING IT ON!" Natsu's flaming spirit started to envelope the atmosphere that it burned the bush. Lucy gave a shriek.

"Don't worry, I won't go easy on you," Gray said cracking his knuckles. His demeanor was so icy that the ground soon froze solid. His eyebrows suddenly went together; his eyes were intense, staring at Natsu who looked at him the same way.

"Stop it you two!" Lucy ordered them as she got in between. "This isn't a time wherein both you should be fighting!"

"Aye!" Happy said as he flew above them.

But nobody could stop Gray. Maybe he needed to loosen up some tension when he saw Natsu and Lucy together _in the bush_ (my dear friends, blame the bush… not to mention the bug). Just when things are heating up (or icing up) between the two mages, Lucy suddenly snapped out and gave them a hard punch on their heads.

Natsu and Gray gave a defeated groan. Only Happy cheered Lucy for stopping them. "I'm dead serious guys." She told them.

When the two came back to their senses, Gray couldn't contain his thoughts and told her "I wouldn't be acting like this if only you two were doing something _more appropriate_."

"What?" Lucy said and then grabbed Gray by the collar. Instead of pushing her away and defending himself, he just gave her a look. He stared into her deep hazel eyes. Then he calmly told her "your fault,"

She released him then pushed him away. "How dare you being so lovey-dovey with her! You don't even do anything! You're an idiot!" She looked down, as if her thoughts were swallowing her away from the world.

"Lucy?" Natsu said.

Gray thought she is going to break, but she didn't, she seemed hurting inside. "We should save Juvia!" Lucy told him.

"I am," he answered her calmly. "Don't think that I am not doing anything,"

A few moments of silence passed between them. The sky grew dark and few drops of rain started to drop to the ground.

"Juvia!" Happy exclaimed.

Gray looked behind him and saw Juvia. She had a dark aura scattered all over the place. She looked at Lucy and said "LOVE RIVAL!"

Gray watched Lucy's face turn from frustration to puzzlement. Later, Juvia suddenly prepared herself to attack the stellar spirit mage. "I can't forgive you for stealing Gray-sama from Juvia!"

"I'm not stealing anyone!" Lucy tried to reason out. But there's nothing stopping the water mage as she advanced to attack, Gray stepped in between them and created an ice wall to prevent any further injury.

"Gray-sama..." Juvia said as she looked at him "why…? Why would you do such thing to Juvia? Why would you rather go out with her!" she said pointing to Lucy, while Lucy appeared shocked and said "we're not even going out!"

"Gray-sama should pay for all this!" Juvia said as she attacked him with water and then vanished. The rain grew stronger.

"Juvia!" Gray said, but no one answered him.

"Find her, damnit Gray!" Natsu said but Gray didn't move. "Or else, everything that Gramps said about the guild rebelling might be true!"

Gray still didn't move.

"Damn it! I'll find her!" he said and pushed Gray. But the ice mage just grabbed his clothes and stopped him. The rain extinguished his flames.

…

The next day in Fairy Tail

Is

Unimaginable:

It all started when Cana wanted more beer, it seemed pretty normal at first, but when she started to flirt openly with Macao… things started to get out of hand: when Macao told her that he recently just had a new girl friend, she started to throw random things at him first, soon, at random members of the guild (she even threw a barrel at master), and soon caused a brawl.

Later Jet and Droy were already fighting over their lifelong problem: Who wins Levy's heart? And then there is Gajeel who started to join them. Laxus went into his violent state again, stating that he wanted to take over Fairy Tail again. He even re-organized the Raijinshu for another set of Fairy games, this time it'd be more fatal.

It's no use; the magic has spread all over the guild. Since those "possessed ones" can't get what they wanted, they started to rebel. Now the guild is divided into two groups: The protectors of Fairy Tail and the rebels against Fairy Tail.

A civil war.

"It's ice boy's stupid fault!" Natsu exclaimed as he tried to fight off some of those who wanted Fairy Tail down.

"Shut up Natsu!" Gray said blocking Bickslow's attack.

"Shut it both you! We knew this is going to happen anyway!" Erza said as she faced Mirajane's demon form.

"Where could Juvia be?" Lucy said as she opened the gate to the Lion: Loke appeared.

Gray thought about Juvia and felt a bit guilty for not following her. Why didn't he follow and tried to find her? He did feel bad, but somehow, deep within him, it felt wrong to chase her, even if he considered her as a friend. He couldn't follow her with Lucy standing near him. He remembered a conversation he had with Lucy when Natsu and Happy left:

_She asked him "If you were the one under the spell, what would be your greatest desire?"_

_He didn't answer but inched closer to her. He could inhale her scent, he couldn't lie. He couldn't pretend anymore. He leaned his face closer to hers, his mouth near hers. By now, he felt sure about his feelings towards the blonde mage._

_He watched her close her eyes until her golden lashes touched her skin, like she was anticipating his next move, however, Juvia's smiling face flashed through his mind._

_This isn't the right time!_

_He stopped._

_He saw the surprise in Lucy's eyes. Though he didn't anticipate it, he knew the instant sting he felt on his cheek. _

_He continued to stare at her and then moved away from her. Although, in his mind, he answered her question: "You."_

They soon spotted her, in the ceiling near the windows, the rain, beating outside like a storm. The whole guild gasped. The sight of Juvia in the ceiling sporting a wet and wild look, seemed like she just got out of a well and now hunts them just a like a doomed ghost in horror movies.

"Juvia!" Gray exclaimed.

"Gray-sama" Juvia said with a sinister smile, like a mad woman. "I would want you to meet someone," and then pointed to a man beside her. He floated in the air. Makarov's face twisted in horror and anger: "EDWARD MOORINGAN!"

"It's been a long time Makarov," Edward answered the guild master. "I see you aged gracefully, now it's time that you rot here together with your guild."

Natsu cursed under his breath. "That would never happen!" and then he created a Fire Dragon's roar and then aimed it at the opponent. But his flames soon extinguished when Juvia blocked it with water.

"She's quite handy, no?" Edward chuckled. "Too bad, this girl doesn't know her full potential as a mage, just because the person she loves doesn't give her any attention."

"You bastard!" Gray said "Juvia is still our comrade!"

Blue light suddenly enveloped the ice mage. He couldn't believe that he could be this furious. Nobody messes with his friends. Even if he didn't harbor any romantic feelings toward Juvia, he must take her back, even if he has to risk his life just to save her.

He could feel the cold enveloping him, strong wind circled around him, and he could feel a great rush of magic flowing through his veins. With a growl, she said "Ice make…" he looked at Edward,

"LANCE!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hope you enjoyed. Opinions are welcome… what do you think so far? Sorry if gets a bit a bit OOC… but I just think that is how they are going to react… maybe I just have to alter a few things to make this story work as a romance story. Forgive me?**

**Anyways, What do you think of Juvia being a star in this arc? Love it or hate it? Haha :D I really appreciate the reviews! They were awesome! Hoping to hear more from you guys **

**Sorry, Lucy is not able to explain her side in this story. I am really looking forward to write her, but this story arc is just attribute for Gray and Juvia.**


	12. Juvia's man Part 3

**Secretly GrayLu by MangaJuiceXD**

**Summary: I'm sure Gray and Lucy have a platonic relationship, but would you want to know some behind the scenes of these two? I'm sure no one in Fairy Tail knows about the two's feelings…**

* * *

><p><strong>11: Juvia's Man: PART 3<strong>

**Gray:**

"Ice Make: LANCE!" Gray screamed as he aimed his attack towards Edward. But as usual, Edward used Juvia to cover him. Gray's eyes grew wide in anger.

"Juvia, it all depends on you now," Edward commanded as he waved a hand, signaling her dismissal.

"Yes," she replied. She released a huge tidal wave, huge enough to bring destruction the guild. Gray watched Juvia as she tried to release her full potential. Watching the water rise and anticipating that it'll hit him, he looked around and saw Lucy standing near him, he created an ice dome that protected them from the wave crash.

"She is going after me Lucy," He told her. "You and the others protect the guild"

He noticed her and saw that she wasn't frightened of the situation. Typical Lucy, she always tries her best. The look in her eyes spelt determination.

"I undestand," he heard her say. "I think you have to settle this issue with Juvia,"

He looked back at her. She gave him a reassuring smile. Somehow, inside his heart he felt some warmth. Yes, to him Lucy was like the sun and like her golden hair, she emitted the sun's warmth.

"I know," he answered her. She gave a slight chuckle then released the water bearer: Aquarius. Aquarius created another wave that opposed Juvia's. Gray created an ice surf board and surfed his way through the waves. He then swept Juvia with him.

"NATSU!" He called after the fire mage, "DEFEAT THAT EDWARD GUY!"

"YOU DON'T HAVE TO TELL ME!" Natsu yelled back, and gave him a grin.

Gray knew he had a loyal friend by his side.

…

"Where did Gray-sama bring Juvia?" Juvia asked him.

They were on the guild's roof top. The rain fell on them; it was strong but not harsh.

"Snap out of it Juvia," Gray answered her.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" she screamed urging the rain to fall down faster. She transforms her arm into water and rushes over to Gray with intent of slicing him. The ice mage, being quick was able to dodge her.

"Ice make: Geyser!" he freezes one point in the ground which later spews out freezing water that turns to ice, which created a distance between the both of them.

"I do not want to fight you," he said "but, letting your emotions go out of hand is dangerous!"

"How would Gray-sama know? Gray-sama doesn't care for Juvia's feelings!" she released another cry and then continued to release water slicers, though he is able to dodge most attacks, one attack sliced his left arm deeply and now fresh blood poured over the battle field.

Juvia watched his face darken, her face twisted in horror and confusion. She must have thought how much she must have hurt him, but the spell was too much, now, it's taking over her. She can't fight it off! She doesn't want to see Gray hurt, No! She doesn't want to hurt him, but why did she hurt him?

"Juvia fight off his spell! He is just using you to take over Fairy Tail!" Juvia could hear him say. She could hear her inner self scream that he is right, but her mind says otherwise. He is the cause of her troubles; he is the cause why she is suffering like this! She released a scream and then trapped Gray in a bubble of water.

Destroy him! She could hear her mind say.

"JUVIA!" Gray screamed, but it is no use, he is now trapped within her bubble. He suddenly felt the temperature increasing. The water is boiling! The pain on his left arm amplified. He winced. His blood is mixing with water. He concentrated on lowering the water's temperature.

It became a battle of wills.

As soon as he felt the water freezing, he grinned mentally. He was able to burst her bubble, and saw the surprise in her face.

Using the cold water from Juvia's bubble, he created an ice cannon to shoot cold water at her, hoping to wake her up to reality (at least he thought so).

Through the rain, beautiful ice crystals erupted from the floor from which they stand. Juvia's lower body is covered with ice blue rose-like crystals. Gray had purposely planted her there so she wouldn't move around so much.

"Ice Make…!" Gray said loudly.

Juvia fixed her eyes on him as if challenging him, and then later closed her eyes in terror, anticipating his attack. She watched him create an ice scythe. She heard him say 'death scythe', is this Juvia's end?

As soon as she was ready to accept her fate, Gray missed her and only managed to cut a few loose hair strands. _Thank goodness! _Juvia thought Gray would kill her, but the next thing Gray did was to hug her.

"Juvia," he said "Please, snap out of it… think of the guild, think of Fairy Tail!"

Juvia froze. Her mind kept on screaming that she had to destroy Fairy Tail in order to have him, but seeing Gray sad because of what she has done… He is right. She thought of her friends… she thought nobody would ever accept her, but here's a guild that took her in.

"Gray-sama…" Juvia chocked in her tears. That's right, she had been blind, and she thought nobody paid her any attention. Juvia is used to being alone, right? But now, whether Gray loves her or not, he cared for her. The feeling is so warm…

The spell is broken.

"We have a guild to save, would you want to help me Juvia?" He said as he let go of her. "I think that our magic is very compatible."

"Gray-sama…" Juvia smiled as she wiped her tears away.

"What?" Gray said casually with a grin, which Juvia found so sexy, "You're gonna help or not?"

She nodded "Yes!"

…

"There's an awful amount of fire in the guild, Juvia doesn't like it."

"It's Natsu's doing." Gray told her coolly, "Right now, he is battling that Edward guy, but I bet that old man is using other members of the guild as his pawns."

"Pawns?"

"Yeah," he looked at her "You weren't the only one under the spell, half of the guild is under it, and I am just hoping they are able to handle the situation…"

Juvia and Gray stood in a high tower overlooking the guild. A perfect place for…

"Juvia!" Gray said as he held her hand. Juvia blushed. "You know what to do," he told her as he held her in a waltz-like position, and together they shouted a destructive spell: "UNISON RAID!"

Suddenly, large amounts of ice needles shot down from the sky followed by a heavy downpour of ice cold water, like the sea fell down on the guild.

Gray admired their work for a while, on the other hand he felt like he was drained off all his energy. _Natsu is not gonna like it, _he chuckled at the thought.

…

That afternoon, the skies cleared showing a warm orange tint across the sky. The rain has stopped.

"ACHOO!" Natsu sneezed as he wrapped himself with a blanket. "It's your fault, damn you Gray!"

"It's not my fault; you were so slow into defeating that Edward guy! Fire idiot," Gray snickered "I thought you'd take care of everything,"

"And you ruined everything!" Natsu said and then unintentionally sneezed at Gray's face. Gray started to get mad at him, since Natsu sneezed with fire erupting from his mouth. The two started their infamous fight.

Juvia watched them afar, the guild was in a ruin, but it felt like home. What happened to that old man? Later, Master Makarov entered the scene and told them that Old Man, Edward Mooringan, was his friend again much to the surprise of the whole guild.

Where is he now?

He travelled back to the monastery in the south, Makarov mentioned. One guild member angrily expressed: Why the master did forgive him after he had destroyed the building? But Makarov, with many years experience of rebuilding Fairy Tail's building told him that he conditioned Edward to bring here all the supplies they needed in restoring the guild… maybe perhaps, lumber, concrete and cement?

It was a deal.

Being forgiven as long as you help the other one you have hurt.

Gray-sama?

She wanted to talk to him, but as she stepped forward to walk towards him she stopped half way when Erza and Lucy approached the two fighting mages. As usual Erza stopped them like a mother stopping two babies fighting. It is a funny scene to watch, but… when Gray saw Lucy, his face suddenly lit up. Juvia felt a pang of pain in her chest. She clumsily closed and opened her hands, her feet wanted to walk away… her eyes just wanted to close, but her couldn't shut her hearing off. The last thing she heard Gray tell Lucy is "It's been a long time since I've seen you? Where have you been? Hiding under a rock?"

His tone around her was so friendly and so at ease.

Lucy playfully responded back too.

_Gray-sama… he is so happy with her… he is flirting with her… and she is not Juvia._

She turned and headed outside the guild.

…

Outside, althoughthe sun is out, the pavement is still wet from the recent downpour. Being with water comforted her. She wanted to cry, no! She shouldn't. Juvia has to be strong right? Juvia has to accept defeat right? If he doesn't like Juvia, then what would Juvia do?

"I thought I'd see you here," somebody said behind her.

Juvia, being drowned in her thoughts, didn't notice him approaching. Her eyes grew wide in shock, seeing him standing near her: Gray Fullbuster.

"Gray-sama," she said and finally broke into a cry "Sorry! Juvia is so sorry!"

He watched her cry. He never saw Juvia cry like this.

"Juvia is such a fool! It's Juvia's fault that the guild got destroyed! It is Juvia's fault that Gray-sama got hurt! If only… If only…" Juvia felt unsure whether to tell him or not, she told it anyway… "It's because… It's because… Juvia likes Gray-sama so much!"

She waited for Gray to say something but he didn't. She looked up at him to see his face. What is Gray-sama thinking? Is he thinking that Juvia has lost her mind again? No! Juvia doesn't want him to think that way! So she said it again:

"Juvia loves Gray-sama!"

Gray smiled and then hugged her much to her surprise. "Thank you, Juvia," then he released her. "However…"

Juvia looked at him; she knew what he going to say… so she cut him off saying "No, Juvia knows…"

"What?"

Juvia looked away "Juvia knows that Gray-sama likes another person, and… she isn't Juvia…"

"Juvia…"

"It's alright, Juvia knows how it is to be alone… she doesn't have to expect Gray-sama to like her, knowing that Gray-sama cares for her is enough… no! Maybe Gray-sama considering Juvia as his friend is too much for Juvia…"

Gray put his hand on her head and then began to pat her… "That's right, you're my friend… and someday, somebody would see you the way you see me… You just haven't met him yet… and besides, you are a cool mage yourself,"

Gray smiled at her that it made her melt to the ground. (Well not literally!)

…

**Lucy:**

_My heart beat wildly in my chest. I thought the worst is over… but it isn't. I thought we could go back to being ourselves again… however, as I see it… _

_Gray…_

_I saw him with Juvia. _

_I didn't mean to pry… I just wanted to tell him something, or maybe hug him at least… but he hugged her…_

_I'm so stupid!_

_I'm such a coward! I think… I'm falling for him! Oh Lucy! What's happening to you?_

_No! It's impossible! I can't fall for him; my life is too complicated to invite him in… Maybe, I'm just happy to be here in the guild, I've found true friends… but… when I think of the Heartfilia compound… people there treating me like a princess… expecting that I'll fall in-love with a prince…_

_When I think of my father… I'll just bring more disappointment on him. Even if I say I don't care of what he says and thinks… sometimes, I couldn't help it if I care about of what he thinks of me… "The Stupid, Runaway Princess of Heartfilia"_

"Gray…?" She said as she saw him standing in front of her "What are you doing here?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm gonna help up in cleaning the guild… after all, I'm partly responsible," he answered.

That's right, a moment ago; Lucy was together with Natsu, Erza and Mirajane as they tried to "clean up". However, Erza went with Natsu on an errand, and then Mirajane went over to her siblings in the other side of the guild. That leaves Lucy alone in her place. When she is about to ask for help in moving furniture or debris, she accidentally passed by Gray and Juvia talking.

Both of them had been silent for a while. She wanted to ask Gray what happened between them and Juvia. But that would be quite rude right?

"So…" Lucy began to ask anyway "Have you cleared things up? With Juvia, I mean…"

"Yeah," Gray said "She is a nice girl,"

"Oh…" Lucy said in a bright tone, as if she is masking her feelings "She really is a wonderful person,"

Something behind them dropped. Lucy thought it was the right time to go out and avoid him. If she didn't want her feelings to go out of hand, she should avoid him right? Yes! That's the only solution for her agonizing heart.

"I think, I need to check that out… uh… see you later I guess…" As she tried to sprint away, she felt something tug her wrist, as if stopping her to go any further. To her surprise it was Gray who held her wrist.

"Gray?" she said as her heart skipped wildly now, she noticed his hand traveled from her wrists to her hand, holding it gently. She looked at him. His dark blue eyes pierced her hazel ones. He moved his lips and told her one word:

"Stay."

* * *

><p><strong>Epilogue:<strong>

**Lyon:**

He was just on his way to visit his childhood friend. Even though they had chosen separate paths in life, they still continued to keep contact. Today, Lyon was returning a Spell book, which he borrowed from Fairy Tail's library. Since the book is rarely noticed, nobody bothered with him borrowing it for a while.

_Drip… drip… drip…_

It started raining.

Oh sh*t! Why does it have to be now? He decided to run for cover, until he saw a beautiful mage under an umbrella. Fearing that he lost his way, he decided to approach her to ask for directions.

"Excuse me; do you perhaps know where Fairy Tail is?"

The umbrella lifted to uncover the girl's face. Lyon stared at her for a while. She is so beautiful! That is what he thought immediately. He must have blushed right away.

She didn't answer, but pointed to the left.

He noticed that her cheeks were stained with tears. "You don't have to cry y'know, I am just only asking…"

"Juvia is sorry,"

"Juvia? Is that your name? It's lovely," Then he held her umbrella for her, that both of them stood under it. "It's a bit cold out there in the rain, if you don't mind; can I share the umbrella with you?"

Juvia nodded.

"Name is Lyon by the way, I'm an ice mage from Lamia Scale, I came to Fairy Tail to return this," then he showed her the book he borrowed. "Maybe, if Juvia could be so kind, she could walk with me to Fairy Tail… I guess, the rain was good omen for me,"

Juvia's eyes widened. What did he mean when he said the rain is a good omen? Don't people always say that rain is so gloomy?

"Lyon-sama," Juvia said "Why do you think that the rain is a good omen?"

"If it didn't rain, then I wouldn't have found you right?" he answered her. Yes, that's right; I wouldn't have found her… Lyon thought. After a few moments later, Lyon is seen together with Juvia, walking their way towards the guild under the rain.

…END OF JUVIA'S MAN…

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Yey! I finished it! It's a happy Easter everyone! What do you think? Please review…! (begs to the floor) it's the only thing that keeps me going… yeah, I am desperate.**

**I wanted to hear about your opinions guys…**

**This story, sorry if I kinda disappointed you all with lack of GrayLu moments, I just wanted to reflect on the subject of "ONE SIDED LOVE". And yes! I am a victim of it, and never ever did someone look at me the way I looked at them! Which is sad.**

**BTW… when Gray rejected Juvia here, I wished that the boy I like rejected me that way. So there! Please review!**

**Thank you very much!** **And yeah… my writing sucks!**


	13. Glitter Part 1

**Secretly GrayLu by MangaJuiceXD**

**Summary: I'm sure Gray and Lucy have a platonic relationship, but would you want to know some behind the scenes of these two? I'm sure no one in Fairy Tail knows about the two's feelings…**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Intro:<strong>_

_When I was a child, I'd watch my mother dress in fancy clothes and jewelries. I would remember watching her descend down the grand staircase of our house. Music would fill the air, everything around me smells like flowers._

_I watched her take my father's hand and she dances with him…_

_She is like a queen_

_I wanted to be like her…_

_Her golden hair in long loose curls, her rose colored gown, swaying as she twirls in the dance floor… The beautiful music and people applauding…_

_I wanted to be like her…_

_She slowly walks towards me and says "My dear Lucy, someday, you'd grow up into a fine young woman like me,"_

_But today…_

_Where am I?_

_The rain outside is harsh. I feel so cold and numb. My tears choke me… I could never be like her! My tangerine gown has been in shreds. I am a complete disgrace. _

_If she sees me like this…_

_What would she say? _

_Would she say "Lucy, you have disappointed me."?_

_No! I don't want her to say that… Forgive me mom…_

_I couldn't be the daughter that can make you proud._

* * *

><p><strong>12: Glitter: PART 1<strong>

A week has passed since Edward's attack on the guild. Everyone is busy reconstructing the guild. Lucy was glad that the ex-member of the guild remained true to his word. He has sent those needed materials… lumber, cement, concrete, and etc. Lucy felt something warm tug her heart, it was that Fairy Tail believes in the saying "Yesterday's enemies is tomorrow's friends". However, that morning, Master Makarov waved a piece of paper in front of her and her guild-mates. The paper showed a line graph. Lucy noticed that the line started so high, and then towards the end, a significant drop is seen.

"Do you know what this is?" Makarov asked them, and when nobody answered, he continued "THIS IS FAIRY TAIL'S FUNDS!"

The line graph explained that around three months ago, the guild's savings went above 860,000,000 Jewels… until today, it dropped to…

"156,000,000 Jewels!" Makarov exclaimed.

"How did that happen?" somebody asked in surprise

"I demand an explanation for this!" Makarov wasn't pleased.

"Maybe it was because, requests were running low and we kept on spending money? And besides, I think people are drinking too much…" Erza suggested, and then a _'Hey'_ was heard from Cana, Wakaba and Macao.

"It might be… but, it also shows that we are not doing enough to help our guild." Makarov said "We keep on destroying things; maybe it's time to fix them,"

"But Gramps… we keep on fixing the guild for free!" Natsu whined.

"Materials are freaking expensive!And besides, this isn't the first time you've wrecked the building." Master answered him.

"Hmm… those Fairy Tail action figurines aren't selling like the way they used to…" Gray said as he looked at the displays.

"Only the girl's action figurines are the only ones sold out!" Warren said mentally.

"Don't shout your thoughts out loud!" Lucy reprimanded.

"Yes, however, I don't have material to make more…" Max added, "I wished I hadn't made the guy figures… they just get dusty…"

"Who thought of those action figures in the first place?" Lucy said. "Don't you know that it feels a bit degrading?"

"Anyway, my paintings aren't also making any progress," Reedus reported. "Nobody would also want to buy Fairy Tail souvenir shirts,"

"Aye!" Happy said "But, the Lucy and Gray kiss picture has been sold out,"

"WHAT? YOU MADE PROFIT OUT OF THOSE?" Lucy and Gray exclaimed.

"Why not? We made more money out of those," Carla said.

"Aye! Three months supply of fish!" Happy exclaimed.

Lucy sweatdropped, "You're so selfish aren't you?"

"WE JUST NEED MORE FUNDS!" Makarov yelled.

The guild fell silent.

Until…

It became noisy again. Everybody started accusing each other of spending money on useless things and not getting decent high paying requests, soon it is followed by another brawl.

Makarov just sighed. Are brats like this now a days?

…

"More Funds, huh…" Lucy told herself as she walked home that afternoon. She looked above at the orange sky. Her feet, are balancing delicately on the road's edge. People on boats continuously remind her to be careful. What can she do for the guild? Once, she thought that money was something endless, or readily available… it was only when she ran away from home, did she realize that money is essentially important. No! Money isn't important; it is a necessity… an unwanted necessity. Money alone couldn't make you happy. Money isn't everything. She thought of her father, who had tons of money in his pocket. Even though he had money, he wasn't able to reach her heart. He soon forgot her and he became engrossed in his work. She wouldn't ask him for money. She would have to make her own.

"Plue?" A small white spirit below her said.

"Oh Plue! What can I do? I really can't go back and ask dad for some money, I am not that desperate!" Lucy said.

"Plue?"

"Believe me Plue, I would really love to ask him, but I can't. My problems are my problems; it has nothing to do with him." Lucy said as she picked Plue up and hugged it. "Hope you understand,"

Moments later, a fancy white and gold carriage stopped by her. A beautiful lady in her early 40's stepped out of it. She wore a beautiful green and pink silk gown. Her auburn curls were tied in an elegant ballerina bun, adorned with multicolored roses. Her heavily lined gray eyes had diamonds on their sides, and she wore a nude pink lipstick. Her perfume was so strong but it carried a gentle breeze that makes Lucy debate whether it smelled good or not.

"Oh?" The woman said "Aren't you, Jude and Layla Heartfilia's daughter?"

Lucy's eyes widened. She stood up straight and nodded.

"I am Lucy Heartfilia, and you are…?"

"Ohohohoho!" she laughed "How rude of me, I am Moon Rose, queen of the roses! No, I am just kidding! Just call me Rose. I am one of your father's clients and your mom's friend, and I just went here at Magnolia. And my goodness! Look! You have grown! I am sure Layla would be very proud to see you, you look so much like her!" then she sighed "I'm surprised to see you here in Magnolia, lovely town, although, it is so hot in here! But I am gonna leave tomorrow night! But before I leave, I have to do a lot of things—blah blah blah…"

She talks too much, Lucy thought. Until she stopped and finally said:

"I want you to come to my party!"

Lucy's eyebrows gave a twitch.

…

They say that Opportunity looked like a large man who possessed a generous amount of hair on his face, but bald on the back of his head. Opportunity passes only once, and you must grab the hairs on the front, because, once he passes, there is nothing to cling or to catch on to. Lucy reflected on this thought for a while. The woman who passed her way that afternoon, presented an opportunity, and she grabbed its hairs.

Of course, she didn't simply readily agree. She weighed her options carefully. However, a memory of a distant past urged her to answer the lady a "yes," A secondary reason, would be because, she found it as a way to increase Fairy Tail's funds.

When she turned the knob, it felt light like somebody was on the other side of the knob. The door opened easily with little force, and then she saw him. Dark bluish-gray eyes greeted her.

"Gray!" she said in surprise.

"oh, so you're home," he answered her.

"W-W-What are you doing here?" Lucy asked.

"Hey Lucy! Is there no food in here?" somebody said behind Gray, and to her surprise, she saw Natsu sitting on her couch. "Natsu!"

"Yo!" He greeted her with a wide smile. "You are pretty late this time! Gray was just about to search for you when you came,"

"I think I've found some eggs here in the refrigerator," Erza said as she wore an apron and then proceeded to the kitchen to cook.

…

Nights are always like this, and Lucy is already accustomed to her friends barging to her house almost every day. Not finding them at home meant something is wrong. After they ate dinner, they sat comfortably by Lucy's living room. Lucy began to tell her story:

"This woman suddenly showed up, and offered that I'll have to go to her party before she leaves town. I told her that I would go, but I let out a condition: The party should increase Fairy Tail's funds!"

"How are we going to do that?" Natsu asked.

"Promote Fairy Tail among her rich friends!" Lucy exclaimed "That way, the more rich people will know about our guild, the more likely that they would send us job requests. Just imagine how expensive their rewards would be!"

"Lucy is such a genius!" Happy said.

"However…" Lucy fidgeted "I feel, extremely nervous… I mean, she knows my family… I just wanted to appear perfect,"

"That's no problem, Lucy," Erza said "I'll tell Makarov about your plan,"

"ALRIGHT!" Natsu exclaimed "FOR FAIRY TAIL!"

…

The next day, Lucy stood in front of the mirror of her room. She stared at herself as she balanced two books on her head. She walked carefully in circles around her room, and found that she was pleased with herself. The next thing she did was to tie a scarf to her chair by the dining table. Its sole purpose is to restrain her from moving too much while eating in a formal manner. She even reviewed the various silverware that lined up in front of her: and that this spoon is used for the appetizer and that this fork is used for the main course. That afternoon she read a book about proper etiquette, and finished it within a matter of seconds. Why is she doing this?

Maybe perhaps, she is trying to fulfill a childhood dream. She wanted to be like Layla Heartfilia, her mother.

Sometimes during her training, she would wonder and reflect about what her mother would say if she saw her daughter like this today. _Your daughter is going to grow up like you, _she thought.

"_My dear Lucy, someday, you'd grow up into a fine young woman like me,"_

The scene wherein she watches her mother dancing in a rose colored gown seemed like a dream which she love to create in reality.

With Erza taking care of things in the guild, she didn't have to worry. She trusts that Erza would select the best members to go to Moon Rose's party. Sinking deep into her thoughts, she didn't notice that somebody had already infiltrated her home.

"You look funny," he said behind her.

Lucy looked around and saw Gray sitting by her couch. The look of surprise is clearly written across her face. She felt blood rushing through her head when she saw how handsome he looked wearing a black tux over a dark blue inside shirt. She noticed that he trimmed his hair a little and shaved his face clean. His leather shoes are perfectly polished. Lucy looked at herself and realized that she is still wearing her house clothes. She felt slightly embarrassed. Fearing that she might be late, she glanced at the clock which read fifteen minutes past six. When she asked him why he is here, he told her:

"Erza asked me to pick you up," he answered.

"Why so early? The party starts at eight." She answered back.

"I have nothing to do," he answered back. "I guess, I'd just have to make myself comfortable for a while," he takes off his clothes wherein Lucy reprimands him.

"So," Lucy started "Who are going with me?"

"Natsu, Erza, Happy… and a few others…"

"Few others?"

"Yup," Gray said casually "We need to promote Fairy Tail remember?"

Gray watched her for a while; he noticed that the smile she wore when she greeted him, faded abruptly. To him, she seemed worried, so he asked her, "Is there something wrong Luce?"

It took her awhile before she had to respond, Gray had to call her attention again to a get a response. She responded with a slight surprise, and then smiled back at him, as if she went back to reality.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

She nodded "I just visited a distant memory…" she paused then continued "When I was a little girl, a year before my mother died. A fancy party was held at home. I was young then. I wore a blue frilly dress which I found itchy. The night air was cool. And, the only occasion that I know, is that it was mama's birthday. I could remember the sweet perfume she wore when she carried me in her arms. The next thing that I remembered was when the party started, she gave this grand entrance… she wore a beautiful scarlet gown and descended gently down the grand staircase. At the end of the staircase, she is greeted by my father, who bowed like a gentleman, asked for her hand. He kissed it and then led her to a dance. An orchestra played. And for the first time, I wanted to be like her."

"You know," she looked at Gray who listened to her story. "She told me, that one day I'll be like her."

He watched her as she told him her story. There was a spark in her eyes as she talked. He wondered what kind of life did she had lived before she entered the guild. Sure, he is well aware that she is indeed a rich kid who lived a different life from him. She is well pampered, but when she talked about this particular piece of her life, even though it wasn't much… it seemed like, this was one of the happiest moments she has ever had as a child. Why? He had a feeling that after her mother passed away, something wrong happened within the Heartfilia family.

"Do you think I'd be like her?" Lucy asked him.

"Yeah," Gray answered her "she sounds like a princess… which, I think would take you a few hundred years to reach her level…"

Lucy made a face at his teasing. "Haha funny," she said flatly.

"I'm serious," he chuckled. "But I think that your dream isn't bad at all… In the first place, dreams aren't a bad thing. I would want to help you with your dream,"

Lucy folded her arms across her chest. "How would you help me?"

"Be my date tonight," Gray requested her coolly.

Lucy scoffed at his request, but he kept a calm façade. "So, your idea of helping me is to become my prince since I wanted to become a princess? Hmmm… nice move,"

"I don't intend to become your prince," he answered her. "A princess doesn't need a prince to define her worth. It takes personality and strength of character to determine her worth." He steps closer to her and holds her in a waltz position. They held each other's gazes for a while. Lucy could feel her heart beating wildly inside. "I think you have those qualities Luce,"

Though it was subtle, Lucy found herself dancing around the room with Gray. She realized that Gray wasn't helping her to become a princess by becoming a prince; instead, he helps her become a princess by giving her confidence. He takes her hand and gently twirls her around the room. His footing, though not excellent, were good and satisfactory. With his words sinking on her, she asked him "What should I do then?"

"Be yourself," he answered. He drew her closer to him, that Lucy could feel a light layer of cold sweat forming on his skin. Was he nervous as she was? It's been a while since they had close physical contact. What is he thinking? Does he really believe in her this much?

Lucy decided to confide with him "I am scared, that I could become my worst enemy, and that my mother would be disappointed at me."

They became silent for a while as their dancing became intense. It was like their bodies were conversing, soon the waltz dance turned into tango then back to waltz. By the end of their dance, Lucy had wrapped her hands on his neck, and he in return wrapped his arms on her waist. Both of them stared at each other, both never wanted to lose eye contact. Their breaths were audible but soft, until Gray told her "Just be yourself, you don't have to pretend to be someone else,"

"Gray…?"

"Lucy…"

Lucy felt her hands slip from his neck to his bare chest. Gray in return, slipped his hands from her waist to her upper back, as if bringing her closer. She looked up at him, he looked down at her. She could feel her weight on her toes as she leaned towards him. He felt his neck descend slowly towards her. Their faces were inches apart, they could feel each other. She closed her eyes to anticipate the next thing that is going to happen, he closed his eyes to feel that moment again…

Lucy heard steps approaching the room and then forcefully pushed him away. In his confusion he wanted to ask her why, but when he saw the doorway…

"LUCY! GRAY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Erza and Natsu exclaimed.

Lucy and Gray just felt warm blood rushing through their faces.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: asdfghjkl! Almost kiss! Almost kiss! Why didn't it happen? Anyways, I appreciate your support on my last chapter "Juvia's man". **

**I just think everybody has someone for them, we just have to wait. **

**What do you think about this chap? I guess, this story now, focuses on "identity and dreams"… and whatever, it's up to you to decide! Haha. I just feel weird right now, maybe it's because I've been on Night schedule for three weeks straight. My body can't seem to adjust well… so I get a lot of weird ideas… **

**Anyhow, Please review! I hope my new story doesn't disappoint you guys… :D**


	14. Glitter Part 2

**Secretly GrayLu by MangaJuiceXD**

**Summary: I'm sure Gray and Lucy have a platonic relationship, but would you want to know some behind the scenes of these two? I'm sure no one in Fairy Tail knows about the two's feelings…**

* * *

><p>Natsu and Erza stood at the doorway wearing elegantly matched clothes. They both looked like they were on fire: the red gown Erza sported had a Chinese collar but had a cut above her breast showing and ample amount of cleavage. Though her gown reached to the floor, it had a slit that reached up to her thighs, revealing her black sequined stilettos. Her hands wore red gloves that reached her elbows. To match the jewelry and red silk, the read gown is lined with gold laces and floral prints. Natsu, on the other hand, wore a black tuxedo with gray pinstripes. Underneath it, he wore a red undershirt. Lucy admitted that they looked like a fiery couple.<p>

The question that was asked earlier…

How could she answer them? It's too embarrassing. Not that leaning over to kiss him is embarrassing… no! Nobody should know!

Gray watched Lucy starting to fidget like a little girl under the weight of pressure. Sooner or later, their friends would be asking for an explanation to why such an event has occurred. Why did it happen? It was just so fast, he did it without thinking. Instinctively, he felt his hand go to his nape and massaged it. He just said coolly "We were just practicing our dance,"

Lucy decided to play along with him and nervously answered, "Yeah, you see Gray here, asked me to be his date… and I agreed so we practiced,"

Erza's eyes grew wide, and then she asked the ice mage "You asked her out on a date?"

Gray shrugged "That must be it,"

"But I thought, you were gonna ask Cana?" Erza asked with more edge on her tone.

"I told her, I would ask her if I didn't find any…" Gray answered.

"But I thought Lucy would be my date!" Natsu exclaimed "Damn you Gray!"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to _steal _your date fire boy, but obviously you were such a slow poke," Gray said.

Natsu inched closer at Gray, "I'll show you what slow is, you date stealer!"

Lucy watched at the chaos that is unfolding in front of her. Though the scene is usual, such thing shouldn't happen tonight! But the thing that shocked her more was that Gray even asked Cana out? She knew that they were close friends… Does that mean she was only an option? And to think that she was about to kiss him, this is the worst thing that could ever happen! Entrusting yourself to guy you aren't sure if he is sincere or not. As Natsu and Gray continued to fight, Lucy decided to put a stop at this…

"I WOULDN'T BE ANYONE'S DATE!"

The two mages stopped their brawl.

"I'm going to find my own," Lucy said as she opened the gate to the Lion. Loki who was already in formal attire, popped out then ask her what's the matter? Lucy asked him to be her date for the night.

* * *

><p><strong>13: Glitter: PART 2<strong>

Lucy put a tangerine colored satin cocktail dress which went in uneven lengths to reveal her golden strapped heels. Her dress had a halter neckline that is adorned with her mother's pearl necklace. Her golden hair was in two pigtails held up by flowers and diamonds. She looked at her hands and saw gloved tangerine ones that matched her clothes. She must thank Virgo and Cancer, they did a good job.

Lucy found herself inside a coach that would bring them to the party. Inside, the coach is allowed to accommodate six people, with three people facing each other. Lucy sat by the side, near the window. Beside her sat Loki who happily chatted with the others. Beside Loki sat Cana who wore a beautiful green gown in different shades. Lucy must admit that Cana looked like an earth fairy. She told her that the gown was provided by Evergreen. Opposite Cana sat Natsu who passed out with his head on Erza's lap. Opposite Lucy sat Gray.

For the rest of the trip, Lucy sat quietly by herself. She had a lot of things in her mind. But on the top of her thoughts, it was about a certain mage who sat opposite her. She watched him quietly; first he would chatter with the others, and then later go quiet by himself. He is very difficult to read, she thought. So it is settled then, Lucy goes with Loki, Gray goes with Cana, Erza and Natsu naturally paired up.

I thought you were my prince? Lucy would think about all the things he told her just a couple of hours ago. She thought the night would bring a lot of beautiful memories. She thought she had found a gentleman who'd come with her to the party.

She assessed her thoughts again; Loki would be a fine partner. But, Gray… he is something else. Lucy couldn't explain it, but she badly wanted him to be her partner. If she did want him, why didn't she claim him earlier? If she claimed him, then she would just get herself teased, and Gray… what would he think of her? A "clingy" person? No, she wouldn't want to be called like that.

When she looked at him, there were times when they'll hold each other's gaze, and but then look away. It makes Lucy frustrated. She wanted to know who she is in his world. Is she JUST a friend? Sometimes, in her wildest imaginations, she would like to pin him to a wall and kiss him squarely at the lips and ask him if he ever liked her.

She could do that, couldn't she?

The coach came to a stop. A large man named Elfman, sat in the driver's seat with Happy. The cat later announced: "We're here everyone!"

When Lucy stepped out of the coach, the troubles that initially bothered her disappeared. Like her, all of her other companions stood astonished at the sight that unfolded before them. There was an open big white building, in the middle of a beautiful big rose garden. Right in the middle of the building was a large water fountain with a dozen spotlights of different colors. An orchestra played a soft music that brought nostalgia to the Heartfilia heiress. A long buffet table stayed at the center of identical big round dining tables.

Lucy felt Loki hold her hand and led her inside. She watched the others and noticed they did the same too. Inside, they are greeted by Moon Rose, who wore multicolored gown that made her look like she took a bath in rainbow-colored water. She happily escorted them to their seats. The next thing that happened shocked them…

In the musicians section stood two people they knew: Gajeel and Levy.

When Natsu saw them, he kept on laughing. Gajeel and Levy wore weird matching gold and black sequin clothes that the musicians wore. Lucy thought her jaw dropped to the floor. _WHAT IS THEIR BUSINESS HERE?_

"We're gonna perform here, would you believe that?" Gajeel said in a somewhat monotone voice.

"Is that true Levy?" Gray asked.

The light-blue haired mage nodded shyly while she received mixed reactions from the members of Fairy Tail that are present.

"BUT GAJEEL CAN'T SING!" Natsu declared.

"How dare you underestimate me!" Gajeel said through gritted teeth.

"Please stop Gajeel," Levy begged him. To the surprise of those present, Gajeel readily obeyed Levy's request.

Later, Moon Rose approached them, specifically Lucy. She told her that she was glad that a Heartfilia heiress was able to attend her party. Lucy responded politely as usual. But later, she noticed that Moon Rose's eyes at her were sharp like daggers, as if she was watching every move she made. After exchanging pleasantries, Moon Rose looked at Lucy's companions from head to toe, like they were small as the insects crawling in the grass. Lucy noticed this when the party's hostess asked her if they were her companions.

"Yes," Lucy answered her.

"I see," Moon Rose rolled her eyes. "I hope you kids behave yourselves and have some fun,"

"We will," Lucy answered in their behalf. "We, mages of Fairy Tail would like to promote our guild to all these people present; we are at your service."

Moon Rose raised an eyebrow. "Indeed," then paused. "I didn't expect that the daughter of Jude and Layla would do such a thing…" then she proceeded to hug Lucy and whispered in her ear "What would Layla think if she sees you staying with this kind of crowd? Think about it Lucy, you are a Heartfilia heiress, don't you think you deserved better?"

Gray watches Lucy stiffen up as she broke her embrace with the party's hostess. What did Moon Rose tell her? It seemed that all the celestial mage's confidence has gone down the drain. A part of him wanted to pull Lucy away from her, but at the same time, he wanted Lucy to stay strong when she faces criticism. He decides to do the latter.

"Thank you for inviting us Moon Rose," Lucy answered "Our seats?"

The hostess giggled "Oh where are my manners? Your seats are over there. I hope you have fun and please enjoy the night. I never knew those two musicians are your friends… they sure are talented…"

Lucy gave a smile. "I'm sure they are,"

"And Lucy," Moon Rose said before she went "I'd be watching you."

…

_What would Layla think if she sees you staying with this kind of crowd? _

_Think about it Lucy, you are a Heartfilia heiress, don't you think you deserved better?_

Lucy Heartfilia is the daughter of Jude and Layla Heartfilia. Both of her parents were mages from the Love and Luck guild. They stopped doing their mage activities when they decided to raise a family. Jude Heartfilia became a business man and provided well for his family. When Lucy was born, she already had a silver spoon in her mouth. Little Lucy, the Heartfilia's treasure and princess is the heiress of billions. Where is she now?

"YUMMY!" Natsu exclaimed as he bit a piece of meat "Lucy! You never told us that rich people food could taste so good!"

"Aye!" Happy responded "I get sick of Natsu's cooking,"

Everyone burst out laughing, and then one joke led to another. It was hilarious, after so many months of being busy with work; this was their only chance of eating together as friends. When she was with them, she forgets everything, that she is a Heartfilia, or that she is an heiress to billions of money. She is just plain Lucy.

"What's Levy and Gajeel doing here anyway?" Lucy asked

"Who knows?" Cana answered with her mouth full of pasta, "The only thing I know was that they were doing a super secret mission, and when I asked Levy to spill it out, she wouldn't really say a thing! Gah! It's frustrating!"

"Calm down Cana," Lucy said "Everybody has their own secrets…"

"Actually, it was Levy's mission, she just asked Gajeel to help her in this one." Erza casually sipped some of her drink. "She must have gathered a lot of courage… Don't you think it is brave when the girl makes a first move?"

Lucy glanced uncomfortably at Gray then later darted back at Erza "You make it sound as if Levy was asking Gajeel on a date,"

Erza shrugged "What's the difference anyway?"

Lucy gave a sneer. "If you are so confident enough, why don't you ask some random guy here to be your partner?"

"I believe I do have a partner," Erza looked seductively at Natsu, unfortunately, the poor boy is unaware of what she just did. However, Erza being Erza didn't seem to mind Natsu's oblivious reaction. Others tried to suppress their laugh at Natsu's innocence with such matters. In the end, Erza just asked him to dance.

Loki just left the table a few moments ago. The only ones left are Gray, Cana, Elfman and Happy. Seeing Erza and Natsu dance made her want to do the same. Seeing Gray just sitting across her made her want to ask him to dance with her, like the one they had in her apartment a few hours ago. She wanted to experience it again; do you think she could re-create such a wonderful experience?

Her hands rolled into fists, like gripping herself was better than the decision she had in her mind. She could hear her heart beat fast in a nervous skip, like rain beating against her windowsill during rainy days. Before she could ask him, she bit her lip as if she was hesitating on what she is going to do. When she made up her mind… "Gray…"

"Gray!" Cana finally said as she held his hand. "Dance with me,"

Gray looked at her smiling face while Lucy felt like as if she missed the bus for just one second.

"No," Gray answered.

"How rude," Cana pouted "I just had a rough week and you're here declining my simple request."

Gray gave her an evil smirk "You don't even know how to dance,"

Cana's face got a little red, her eyes wide as if he just exposed a little secret. She playfully hit him at the back "That was a long time ago!" Cana laughed at some distant memory only known to her and Gray. Watching them playfully bicker with each other, made Lucy a bit uncomfortable. She felt that she was an outsider prying into their memories. She knew that Cana and Gray were close, but maybe she didn't expect that they were that close!

"Lucy!" Cana looked at her "Persuade Gray to come dance with me,"

"No Lucy don't!" Gray pleaded.

Lucy felt like she is in a very difficult situation. Help Cana or help Gray? "It seems like the two of you had danced a thousand times together,"

Cana smiled "Of course we had!"

"Yeah," Gray seemed to smile at Cana's answer "But, every time we did, I always go home with sore feet,"

"You know, there was a time that I had to drag him to the dance floor, I think it happened a couple of years ago, when Fairy Tail organized a party to celebrate Makarov's birthday," Cana seemed proud of that fact "and I think I have to do it again now,"

Lucy watched her as she dragged an unwilling Gray to the dance floor. Lucy giggled a little, Gray looked hilarious, although she wished she was the one dragging Gray to the dance floor instead of Cana.

It's true, it's a sad fact that she hadn't been there while they grew up. Her childhood was full of servants for companions. It was seldom to see somebody of her age. For a moment, she felt a little jealous of Cana and Gray growing up together. She thought, while they might be having fun, where was she? Locked up at the Heartfilia mansion with a handful of servants and a negligent father!

She decided to go for a walk around the party, later Moon Rose spotted her and joined her.

"How long have you been in Fairy Tail?" The lady asked her.

"About a year or so I guess," she answered.

"It must have been a very special guild, for you to stay there for a very long time,"

Lucy smiled "Yes, it is a wonderful guild, I had a lot of adventures, I had a lot of experiences, I had learned a lot of lessons, they taught me a lot of things,"

"Your parents were mages too,"

"Yes, they were. And, I wanted to be like them. Especially my mother, she passed me down her greatest treasures, her keys."

"It's very typical of your mother to be so kind, there would be times wherein I would be in trouble and she would help me…" Moon Rose took out her heavily scented handkerchief and blot away some tears in the corners of her eyes. "You look too much like your mother Lucy, that is why it pains me to see you enduring some hardships,"

Lucy could felt Moon Rose put an arm around her and watched the party. Lucy's eyes darted from random people then to the members of Fairy Tail. She could see Erza spinning Natsu until he got the urge to vomit, and that Gray tried to keep up with Cana's clumsy foot work. Seizing an opportunity to speak, Lucy said "There was a condition, the reason why I came to your party,"

"I wanted you and your friends to support Fairy Tail,"

"Support?" Moon Rose said as she releases her grip on Lucy.

"Financially, it isn't impossible, right?"

"Financially it isn't," Moon Rose said "However, I'm afraid most people here do not like their company,"

"What do you mean?"

"Take a look Lucy," Moon Rose again put an arm around her, this time she was closer, as if whispering to her about the evils she didn't see about her companions. "Surely, you didn't grew up with them… they've been together through lots of hardships and they were able to get by, and you, you've only been with them for a year… what makes you think that you could trust your life with people you barely even know?" Her cold gray eyes focused on Lucy's hazel ones.

"Sometimes, we must protect ourselves my dear, what are your priorities? Your dreams? Wouldn't you like to walk the path your mother paved for you? If you could just listen to me, I could save you from them, bring you away from all of this hardships, you don't have to worry anymore, your life would be comfortable again like before…"

Moon Rose continued to persuade the young heiress, who became quiet into her own thoughts. "I know about a guild, a guild better than this one. People there are more sophisti-"

"I understand your offer," Lucy cut her. "but, I am not going to leave Fairy Tail."

Moon Rose's expression changed, surprised at Lucy's answer. "You must be mistaken young lady, life has been kind to you, I don't want you to experience a miserable life with them! I absolutely forbid it!"

"I am not miserable!" Lucy answered back. "I love being with them, they give hope and help me realize that I could get by life's difficult currents… so, I must decline your offer. I am sorry Moon Rose." Lucy paused, "They are my friends."

Moon Rose gave a loud sigh, Lucy thought it was dramatic for her to do that, the sigh sounded like "I give up," or "I don't know what to do with you,". If Moon Rose thinks she could decide her life like what her father had done to her, clearly she is mistaken. Lucy was about to make her exit when Moon Rose suddenly said:

"Before your mother died, she asked me a favor, she has a bright future planned for you, her only daughter."

Lucy's eyes grew wide, what was her mother's last words to this woman?

"Oh? I think you are interested, my dear Lucy…" Moon Rose said with a crooked smile on her face.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: SORRY!**

**Only now I had the chance to finally write! I have been so busy at work lately, but when I get the chance, my sisters keep on using the computer or bother me when I write, so it took a while! **

**Sometimes I get a writer's block so… I hope you can forgive me!**

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter… I know there isn't much GrayLu in it, but, sorry I really love Cana too **


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